Advances in the Fabrication of Nanosensors for Management of Abiotic Stress in Crop Plants

Abiotic stressesAbiotic stress in plants cause a significant loss in agricultureAgriculture production in many parts of the globe. With increasing global warming and climate changeClimate change aggravating the situation, crop production is facing immense pressure. Reducing crop loss due to abiotic stressesAbiotic stress is the need of the hour. NanotechnologyNanotechnology has enabled researchers to build more sensitive, selective, and efficient sensingSensing systems. From monitoringMonitoring real-time microclimatic conditions, enzymatic changes, and physiological changes in plants to monitoringMonitoring soilSoil conditions, nanosensorsNanosensors have the ability to accurately measure and communicate the information to the end-users. Major abiotic stressesAbiotic stress are found to be associated with various signalingSignaling biomoleculesBiomolecule that helps in communicating the stressStress signals and regulate plant responsesResponse; includes reactive oxygen species (ROSReactive oxygen species (ROS)), Nitric oxideNitric oxide (NO) (NO), and salicylic acid (SA) among the others. Nano based sensorsSensors due to their selectivity and rapid detectionDetection can efficiently detect these signalingSignaling molecules even at very low concentrations. Various sensorsSensors like optical, electrochemicalElectrochemical, and plant wearable sensorsWearable sensor can transform these plant biochemical signals into optical, radio waves, and electric signals that can be monitored by electronic devices. Herein, in this chapter we discuss the recent developmentsDevelopment made in the fieldField of sensorsSensors for abiotic stressAbiotic stress and monitoringMonitoring plant healthPlant health. Various types of sensorsSensors have been discussed in the chapter such as optical sensorsSensors, electrochemical sensorsElectrochemical sensor, and wearable sensorsWearable sensor. Also, the future role of these sensorsSensors in precision farmingPrecision farming is also highlighted in this chapter.