Nanobionics: An Innovative Drive Towards Sustainable Agriculture
摘要
Continuous rise in the world population insists on expanded crop and food production, hence adapting new and sustainable approaches is the need of the time. In addition to the limited space and growing food demands, the management of biotic and abiotic stress factors also needs to be addressed, as these stresses significantly reduce crop yield and quality. To overcome this, novel techniques and strategies related to nanobionics, an emerging field that combines nanotechnology and plant sciences are required to be explored and adapted. Nanoparticles when introduced into plant systems are known to augment various beneficial agronomic traits of plants which include the increased tolerance against various stresses, a high rate of photosynthesis, elevated nutrition acquisition, increased crop productivity, targeted fertilizer, and pesticide delivery. Despite these positive attributes, the approaches of nanobionics are still not adapted, as scarce information is available about the environmental and health dangers of nanoparticles. Their toxicity to nontarget organisms and the unknown long-term environmental repercussions can cause considerable concerns. Thus, nanoparticles have the potential to significantly enhance sustainable agricultural practices; however, additional research is essential to guarantee their safe and sustainable application.