Role of Carbon Nanomaterials in the Prevention of Plant Disease

Global agricultural systems are facing a lot of challenges of reduced crop yield, continuous decline in agricultural land, scarcity of irrigation water, and continuously changing climatic conditions. Agriculture, as a monoculture practice, has also to face the continuous occurrence of plant disease and increasing attack of resistant plant pathogenic microbes. The current treatments for killing plant pathogenic microbes are not environmentally friendly and sometimes fail to protect plants. The scientific and farming community is looking at nanotechnology as a potential alternative. Although many nanotechnological tools have been reported as potential weapons to render plant protection, carbon nanoparticles have recently gained attention. Their non-toxic attitude, environmental acceptability, and ability to possess biocidal properties against a wide range of plant pathogenic microbes make them superior to other nanoparticles. They kill the host cell by rupturing the cell membrane and penetrating the fungal hyphae, followed by the precipitation of genetic material. The multifarious approach reduces the chances of resistance in pathogenic microbes. In the current chapter, we have discussed different types of nanomaterials finding their origin in carbon and their plant protective role during various diseases. We have also tried to highlight the potential mechanism governing their biocidal nature.