Nanotechnology for the control of plant pathogens and pests

Abstract

Agriculture is the primary food source and fundamental for human survival. However, managing pests and diseases of crops remains a challenge. Moreover, climate change events such as drought, soil depletion, and low nutrient use efficiency are significant barriers to global food security. Nanotechnology has emerged as a possibility for resolving these issues. Nanomaterials have different properties compared to their bulk forms, which allows for a wide range of new applications. An urgent demand is for the combat against pests and pathogens that cause significant losses to different cultivars, and many are still acquiring resistance, which makes this fight a challenge. Many nanomaterials have demonstrated the ability to combat such pathogens, raising their potential application. In this review, we will discuss the use of nanomaterials in combating a wide variety of pathogens and pests that constantly affect different cultivars around the world. The efficiency of the treatments varied depending on the type of nanomaterial as well as characteristics such as size and morphology. Furthermore, the dosage was another determining factor in the outcome, so that there were relevant results with improved plant development and performance. Also, we demonstrated recent advances in controlling virus infections that affect a wide variety of cultivars. We also discuss the potential to combat the most common pests and the possible mechanisms of action of these nanomaterials, which make them capable of affecting a broad spectrum of organisms. Nanomaterials probably act through different pathways, and the resulting pathways would allow the control of these pests and diseases. However, the threshold between toxicity and beneficial effects is still difficult to determine, and the resulting toxicity varied among the different cultivars reviewed. We present the challenges that still exist and perspectives for the use and commercialization of nanoproducts.