Materials Today: Proceedings 73 (2023) 267–270

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Materials Today: Proceedings

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Nanotechnology: A boon for agriculture

Madhu Bala a,⇑, Sushil Kumar Bansal a, Faria Fatima b
a
Computer Science and Engineering Department, MAIT, Maharaja Agrasen University, HP 174 103, India
b
Department of Agriculture, Integral Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology, Integral University, Lucknow 226 026, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Agriculture is the primary source of livelihood and an important sector that provides food to on growing
Available online 3 October 2022 population and provides raw materials to food industries. From the past few years it is observed that
plant diseases are becoming the contributors to reduce the production & quality of food.
Keywords: Nanotechnology is the promising area that can be used to solve these problems. It has become an area
Nanotechnology of intense attention in recent years since it can be applied in various stages of agriculture i.e. from sowing
Plant diseases a seed to a grown up plant. The present paper is focused on how nanotechnology can be used in various
Nanosensors
stages of crop production and will suggest future scopes that can be incorporated in this field so as to
Nanofertilizers
improve the production quality and quantity of the food crops.
Ó 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the ‘‘Vasudhev Kutumb-
kam- 3: Third International Conference on Entrepreneurship, Research and Innovations for Environmen-
tal Sustainability and Planetary Health’’.

1. Introduction applied in all stages of agriculture such as sprouting, processing,

Traditional farming technologies led to use chemically synthe-
sized fertilizers which results in several problems like soil pollu-
tion, soil salinity, soil acidity, water contamination, resistant of
several crops towards pests and many more [1–3].
Nanotechnology is a branch of science that deals with nanos-
tructures of size 1–100 nm in diameter which can be broken into
new materials, applications and device. Such material will further
exhibit new and powerful characteristics. Two approaches are used
to represent it: top down and bottom up approach [4–7]. Former
approach includes formation of nanoscale structures from small
sized structures by machining while the later is applicable in bio-
logical processes. Bottom up approach basically deals with build-
ing organic and inorganic materials into well defined structures.
Such materials can be synthesized into different forms of nanopar-
ticles having several properties such as optical, biological, etc. [8].
These properties have extensive applications in various fields such
as medicines, electronics, telecommunication, agriculture etc. Nan-
otechnology and agriculture forms a field called agro-
nanotechnology which focuses on sustainable growth of plants
and increasing the nutrients of soil thereby increasing the produc-
tion of food crop. From sowing a seed to growing crops, it can be
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: madhuanand87@yahoo.com (M. Bala).
plant disease management and many more. The development of
the high level agricultural system along with use of nanoparticles
could be a good idea to make a revolution in agricultural practices,
and thereby reducing the influence of modern agriculture on the
environment as well as to enhance both the quality and quantity
of yields. As discussed, due to its vast application areas nanotech-
nology has the power to bring a tremendous change in the field of
agriculture. This technology and its newly developed tools can be
applied in various the objective of nanomaterials in agriculture is
to minimize the spread of chemicals, soil pollution and nutrient
losses thereby increasing the yield through proper management.
Novel tools of nanotechnology can be used for this purpose such
as nanopesticides, nanofertilizers, etc.
Further, it is found that many plants have antimicrobial surfaces
to protect them from bacteria. They possess nanostructured sur-
face which causes physio mechanical rupture of cell wall. Bacterial
cells adhered to the surface leading to cell rupture on contact and
death within 5 min. Treatment of bacteria with SiNp will rupture
the bacteria but on bare Si surface, bacteria survive. It has also been
discussed that in future nano based catalysts will be used for
increasing the efficiency of pesticides in such a way that lower
doses of such chemicals will be applied in farming fields [9–11].
This will help in protecting the environment by reducing and
cleaning up the existing pollutants and making the agricultural
filed more sustainable. Also, several nanomaterials can be helpful

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2022.09.498
2214-7853/Ó 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the ‘‘Vasudhev Kutumbkam- 3: Third International Conference on Entrepreneurship, Research
and Innovations for Environmental Sustainability and Planetary Health’’.
M. Bala, S. Kumar Bansal and F. Fatima Materials Today: Proceedings 73 (2023) 267–270

in diminishing the size of sensors to very small and tiny smart

devices used for biochemical analysis. Mycotoxins which are pre-
sent in several foods can also be detected with the help of nano
materials [12–15].
The present paper is focused on application of various nano
material based products used in agriculture sector and it is illus-
trated that how nanotechnology is giving more promising results
thereby helping in building sustainable environment. Various car-
bon nanomaterials are used for various applications and these
materials includes graphene, graphene oxide, fullerenes (C60), car-
bon nano particles, nanotubes, sheets, gels etc. Some of the com-
mercialized nano products are depicted in Table 1. These
nanomaterials can be applied in two areas of agriculture i.e. in soil Fig. 1. Parts of plant where nanomaterials can be applied.
and in plants. If it is plant, then such materials can further be
applied in different parts of plant as shown in Fig. 1.
Table 2
Comparison of Traditional Fertilizers and Nanofertilizers.
2. Nanoscience for sustainable crop production
S. Parameters Traditional Fertilizer Nanofertilizers
No
2.1. Nanofertilizers
1. Loss Rate Due to leaching, rain off Low loss rate
they show high loss rate
Nano fertilizers are giving more promising results as compare to 2. Toxicity Excessive use may cause They are non-toxic and less
traditional fertilizers in agriculture. The comparison between these health hazards and harmful to humans &
two is mentioned in Table 2. On a nanometer scale, nanofertilizers environment pollution environment.
3. Release of Release nutrients very Excess release of fertilizers
consist of micro/macro nutrients that are delivered to crops in a
nutrients slowly which can be causes soil imbalance
very controlled manner so as to improve the growth and quality extended over a time
of plants [16]. For example nano coating on fertilizer particles period
can hold the material more strongly on the plant due to the higher 4. Soil High Reduced
adsorption
surface tension and hence increasing the plant uptake of nutrients
5. Nutrient Nutrient uptake efficiency Due to nano dimensions, the
[17]. Researchers have found that on reduction of inorganic mate- uptake is comparatively low nutrient uptake efficiency of
rials into nano sized particles two facts can be observed. First one is efficiency nano fertilizers is high
quantum size effect in which chemical and physical properties of
the materials can be observed. While on the other hand, some
nanoparticles like AuNp shows good transduction properties tion of insecticides and pesticides in right amount [21]. Nanosen-
because of huge ratio of surface area to volume thereby making sors are capable to detect the presence chemical contaminants,
it suitable for agricultural products for analytical purpose [18]. presence of gases and pathogens in plants. The high sensitivity
property of nanosensors can detect features of plant leaves such
2.2. Nano pesticides as color, texture, dispersion and gray levels which is used for deter-
mining the symptoms of diseases in plants. Further, carbon nano
Nano pesticides contain very small particles having pesticidal tubes can be embedded in plant leaves that can measure hydrogen
properties that can be effectively used in controlling pests. Random peroxide levels and chemical signals are produced when a plant is
use of pesticides boosts the disease resistance of plants, decreases injured, infected or damaged.
the nitrogen fixation and step up the bioaccumulation of pesticides
[19].The use of nano pesticides increases the pesticide efficacy,
reduces environmental concerns and reduces the dosage required 3. Application of nanotechnology at various stages of farming
[20].
The objective of nanotechnology in agriculture is to minimize
2.3. Nanosensors the loss of nutrients from soil, reduction in amount of chemical
spread and to increase the production of crops through the use
Use of nanosensors during farming is user-friendly. It can be of nanomaterials and proper management. It has the potential to
disseminated in the field to find the level of nutrients in the soil improve agriculture field with novel nano techniques which can
and to detect existence of plant virus thereby helping the farmers be applied in almost all stages of plant growth starting from
to take necessary steps for plant disease management and applica- preparing the soil for sowing to a grown up plant.

Table 1 3.1. Improved soil quality

Some commercialized nano based products that used in agricultural sector.

Product Type of Content With the increase in global population, food demand is also
Name Product increasing which is further likely to be risen by 70% by 2050
Biozar Nano- Combination of organic materials, micronutrients, [22]. The excessive use of chemical fertilizers has imparted a neg-
Fertilizer and macromolecules ative effect on soil health such as increased environmental pollu-
Agro Kill Nano- Organic & Non-carcinogenic product. tion, loss of nutrients from soil, etc. [23] found that carbon
Pesticide
Nano Nano- Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) Stabilized with Nano
nanoparticles can be used to improve the fertility of soil, growth
Shield Pesticide Silver (AgNo2) of crop and nutrient uptake specifically for corn. It also increases
Nano Nano- Contains 4% nanoscale nitrogen particles the enzyme activities and nutrient retentions in the soil but at
Urea Fertilizer the same time these results are strongly dependent on type of soil
and application rates.
268
M. Bala, S. Kumar Bansal and F. Fatima
3.2. Seeding
Germination is one of the important step in growth of a plant.
Healthy seeds results in a qualitative and quantitative growth of
plants in the field of agriculture. Further, it ensures faster elonga-
tion of the roots and rapid expansion of leaves which helps in
the uptake of nutrients from soil in good amount. The whole pro-
cess of germination of seeds is divided into 3 phases: seed imbibi-
tion, lag phase and seed germination [24]. Seed imbibition is the
process of uptake of water by dry seed thereby expanding and
Fig. 2. Application of Nanotechnology.
Fig. 3. Effect of nano particles entering into the body of human beings [27].
269
Materials Today: Proceedings 73 (2023) 267–270
enzymes and food supplies become hydrated. In activation or lag
phase metabolism takes place which helps in production of
enzymes and embryo development. In third phase again water
uptake takes place but at much faster rate and embryo growth cul-
minates in radical protrusion.
3.3. Increased productivity
Nanomaterials such as TiO2, ZnO, multiwalled carbon nano
tubes etc are contributing in increasing the growth, quality
enhancement and development of crops. It has been found that
OH functionalized fullerenes have positive impact on growth of
plants specifically wheat, onion, spinach, tomato, potato, mustard
and peanut [25]. Ref. [26] demonstrated that the use of fullerenes
have increased hypocotyl growth in Arabidopsis by stimulation of
cell divisions. Further, seeds coated with Fullerol not only increase
fruit number, fruit size but also enhances final yield by up to 128%.
Likewise, foliar application of nano- zinc and boron fertilizers
increased fruit yield and quality, including 4.4–7.6% increases in
total soluble solids (TSS), 20.6–46.1% increases in maturity index,
0.28–0.62 pH unit increases in juice pH and 9.5–29.1% decreases
in titratable acidity (TA), on pomegranate without affecting any
physical characteristics of fruit [27]. All the above mentioned find-
ings indicate that nanomaterials have played a tremendous role in
improving the production and quality of crops.
3.4. Smart monitoring of fields
Nanosensors can result in proper monitoring and growth of
plants if used wisely and necessary cautions are taken. Nowadays
nano biosensors are used for smart farming which includes real
time detection of pests, continuous monitoring of environmental
conditions and growth monitoring of plants [28]. It was found that
sensors of nanoscale are more advantageous over conventional
sensors. They exhibit ultrafast response time and their small size,
lightweight, and high surface to volume ratio makes them ideal
M. Bala, S. Kumar Bansal and F. Fatima
to use for high signal amplification and trace accurate information
wherever they are applicable in field (Fig. 2).
4. Toxicological impact of nanoparticles and their health
hazards in agriculture application
Nanotechnology has shown significant results in different fields.
Its use may detect and reduces the environmental contaminants
but little knowledge of such nano materials can lead to adverse
effects on agriculture field as well as on human health as shown
in Fig. 3. Further, nanofertilizers may contain silica, nano zinc, iron
and titanium dioxide, ZnCdSe/ZnS core shell QDs etc. The defi-
ciency of zinc is one of the major concerns in reducing agricultural
productivity in the alkaline nature of soils [29].
5. Discussion
Distinctive properties of nanomaterials make them efficient to
be used in agriculture field. It is found that a lot of information is
available about different nanomaterials to be used in agriculture
but the toxicity level of such materials is not defined properly
thereby applications of such materials are limited. Nanofertilizers,
nanopesticides and nano sensors have revolutionized agriculture
field in the past few years but it is also observed that such materi-
als should be used with proper knowledge and cautions should be
taken care of to effectively use them. Many nanoparticles including
green nanoparticles have shown toxic effects which may harm the
soil microbiome and hence generating adverse effect on productiv-
ity of crops.
6. Conclusion & future scope
Agriculture is the only source of providing food to human
beings and hence it requires knowledge and implementation of
modern technologies. Nanotechnology is a promising area which
can bring tremendous changes in this field. In sustainable agricul-
ture it is expected that environment should be pollution free and
nanomaterials have matched these expectations. It is significantly
contributing in building a sustainable environment in agriculture
by reducing the use of fertilizers and pesticides as they can be pre-
cisely released through smart systems. It is also contributing in
saving energy, water and raw materials.
Still huge gaps are there in our knowledge such as uptake
capacity, amount of use and the ecotoxicity of different nanomate-
rials. Therefore, further research is needed to explore this area
more.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Madhu Bala: Data curation, Formal analysis, Writing – original
draft. Sushil Kumar Bansal: Conceptualization, Data curation, For-
mal analysis, Project administration, Writing – review & editing.
Faria Fatima: Conceptualization, Data curation, Project adminis-
tration, Writing – review & editing.
Data availability
Data will be made available on request.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-
cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared
to influence the work reported in this paper.
270
Materials Today: Proceedings 73 (2023) 267–270
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