Nanopesticides in Agriculture: Scopes and Limitations

Conventional pesticides are chemical formulations used against pests to enhance agricultural yields. Despite their benefits, conventional pesticides pose several health hazards to non-target organisms. Moreover due to their short half-life, they are also used in large amounts, increasing the risk of environmental contamination. Hence development of novel approaches are required to protect plants with minimal detrimental impact on the environment and non-targets. Nanopesticides (NPs) are emerging technologies in the field of agriculture and present some advantage over conventional pesticides. They offer durability, stability, and increased efficacy. In addition, NPs also reduce the amount of active ingredients that are generally used in traditional farming. Several types of NPs have been synthesized. These include nanopolymers, nanoemulsions, and nanospheres constituted by diverse materials. Nanoinsecticides, nanoherbicides, and nanofertilizers possess increased efficacy compared to that of conventional pesticides. Though the NPs are highly effective, concerns regarding their toxicity exist and demand further studies. Therefore ecotoxicology, exposure assessment, and the environmental fate of these NPs are required to be addressed in the near future.