Biosensors, Monitoring of Analytes and Implications in Horticulture

HorticultureHorticulture is one of the prominent areas of agricultureAgriculture providingFruit crop fruitsFruit, vegetablesVegetables, flowersFlower crop, ornamental plants, medicinalMedicinal plants and spices cropsSpice crops. Nowadays, horticulturalHorticultural productsProduct are developed with advanced agronomic practices to improve the shelf-life of the productsProduct using pre- and post-harvestPostharvest techniques, stored, and processed for sustainable use. There is a need to monitor various analytes used during the crop developmentDevelopment in the fieldField, in the pre- and post-harvestPostharvest periods. Though conventional analytical techniques have the advantages of high sensitivitySensitivity and reliability, the process is prolonged and tedious requiring expensive instruments, high-end equipment and skilled technicians. BiosensorsBiosensor, a relatively new analytical methodMethod, bypasses these limitations. This makes the analysis easier, faster and in real-time, helping the analysts and the farmers, know about the presence of undesirable analytes, if any, in the horticulturalHorticultural productsProduct. Therefore, it is essential to develop biosensorsBiosensor for detecting various analytes, including pesticidesPesticide, toxins, phytohormonesPhytohormone, plant pathogensPathogen, flavorsFlavor, essential minerals and important nutrientsNutrients in horticulturalHorticultural goods. In this book chapter, we covered the demanding stages in horticultureHorticulture in general, the detectionDetection of analytes, the notion of biosensorsBiosensor, their creation and ultimately how biosensorsBiosensor have aided in the monitoringMonitoring of the same analytes. The applications of biosensorsBiosensors application in horticultureHorticulture, particularly in pre- and post-harvest periods have been discussed.