Nanotechnological Approaches in Sustainable Agriculture and Plant Disease Management

Abstract

Every year approximately 30-50% of crops suffer with different kinds of biotic stresses. Rapidly growing agrochemical industries and their diverse products make the environment more toxic and simultaneously hazardous for plant heath and soil health. Such types of agrochemicals are toxic, hazardous, carcinogenic, non-eco-friendly. Therefore, this is the ideal time to think about some more effective alternatives against those problems. Nanotechnological approaches bring the alternatives in the form of decreasing toxicity, improving shelf-life, increasing solubility for poorly water-soluble agrochemicals, minimum use with maximum effect, slow leaching efficiency with long-term effect with coupling of eco-friendly natural-istic way. The way of nanoparticle application in agriculture, specifically disease management, is unique, where it can be used singly or by coupling with fungicidal, herbicidal, insecticidal, RNA-interference molecules. Though it has such a positive impact, very few products will be commercially available in our market due to high price of particular products and well-established long field trial efficacy detection among insect, pest-pathogen, and environment. Application of nanomolecules in other progressive fields has been emerging, whereas advancement in agricultural applications needs to be boosted up through skilled knowledge transfer and basic understanding of its fundamental aspect.