Nanobiostimulants for Enhancing Plant Growth and Yield

In a challenging climate change scenario, we need to provide agriculture with new tools to improve food crop yields, to feed a growing population that is expected to reach nine billion in 2050. The lack of nutrients in various field crops is one of the main problems affecting human health in developing nations. Even though chemical fertilizers boost agricultural output, their excessive usage has harmed the environment because it has reduced soil fertility, strengthened insecticides, contaminated air and water, and emitted greenhouse gases. A hot topic in this field is the use of nanobiostimulants to enhance plant growth other than fertilizers or pesticides; their utilization is widely reported in the literature as enhancing tolerance against stress or increasing crop production. The activity period of biostimulants is reduced by soil microorganisms due to which weekly treatments are required to be effective, which becomes prohibitively expensive on large farms. A promising strategy to solve this issue is the use of nanobiostimulants which provides a controlled release. Nanoparticles (NPs) and nanomaterials (NMs) operate as nanobiostimulants by stimulating plant growth even in minute amounts. It has been reported in research earlier that nanobiostimulants help in increasing the yield of the plant; for example, the use of salicylic acid (SA)-functionalized chitosan nanoparticles (NPs) prepared by an ionic gelation method provides better enhanced growth and antioxidant response. The pros and cons of several nanobiostimulants for plant development are outlined in this review paper.