Nanobiotechnology in agricultural development

Abstract

Nanobiotechnology is the field of science that has recently emerged by conjugation of biotechnology and nanoscience. An extensive range of applications of the field of nanoscience (nanoparticles) have been established in several fields of biosciences and biomedicine with wide applications in industry. Since the potential of this newly emerged field of research and medicine is beyond the scope of this chapter, we will be focusing on their applications in agriculture solely. Since this is a hybrid technique, so it employs all the biotechnological tools for its applications. Their key applications include use in treating plant diseases through site-specific targeting of diseased organs, transforming plants through gold/tungsten nanoparticles coated with engineered plasmid, targeted delivery and controlled release of bioactive substances, etc. Their use in crop protection is just in its infancy. Recently, the concept of using nanoparticles in plant treatment has been established and their applications in the parasitic control in plants are practised successfully. The chapter will focus on the development and use of ‘nanodevices’ for formulating agriculturally important chemicals (fertilizers) with more useful properties and their direct delivery as well as their applications in various agricultural sectors. Still the limitations are there which hinder their use on large scale (commercially).