Application of nanoparticles in agriculture as fertilizers and pesticides: Challenges and opportunities

Abstract

Sustainable management of ecosystem implies the exploitation of ecofriendly approaches in agriculture for production of crops. Since crop production is linearly determined by exhaustive application of fertilizers to increase soil fertility and pesticides to suppress yield limiting diseases, these processes at the same time result in ecosystem destabilization besides economic costs. Nanomaterials which are prepared by employing different techniques and which range in size between 1 and 100 nm, are comparatively safer and effective than conventional fertilizers. Their utilization as fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture for maximizing production of field crops is gaining popularity across the scientific community and further research in this area can enhance our knowledge about the emerging technology and its wide scale adoption. Different nanoparticles may exhibit potential divergent properties than traditional fertilizers and pesticides in terms of efficiency, costs, and environmental safety. In this chapter, nanoparticles and their possible utilization in agriculture for enhancing the production of crops are discussed with latest literature review.