Nanoparticle-Based Sustainable Agriculture and Food Science: Recent Advances and Future Outlook

TLDR

Global food demand is rising while conventional farming loses up to a third of crops to pests, disease, and poor soil, creating an urgent need for new solutions such as nanotechnology to reform resilient agriculture and enhance food security. This review aims to highlight critical points in nanotechnology‑based agricultural research that could benefit productivity and food security. The authors examine a range of nanoparticle‑based formulations—including nano‑pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, fertilizers, and sensors—investigated for plant health management and soil improvement. Nanotechnology has contributed to an agrotechnological revolution with imminent potential to reform resilient agricultural systems and promise food security.

Abstract

In the current scenario, it is an urgent requirement to satisfy the nutritional demands of the rapidly growing global population. Using conventional farming, nearly one third of crops get damaged, mainly due to pest infestation, microbial attacks, natural disasters, poor soil quality, and lesser nutrient availability. More innovative technologies are immediately required to overcome these issues. In this regard, nanotechnology has contributed to the agrotechnological revolution that has imminent potential to reform the resilient agricultural system while promising food security. Therefore, nanoparticles are becoming a new-age material to transform modern agricultural practices. The variety of nanoparticle-based formulations, including nano-sized pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, fertilizers, and sensors, have been widely investigated for plant health management and soil improvement. In-depth understanding of plant and nanomaterial interactions opens new avenues toward improving crop practices through increased properties such as disease resistance, crop yield, and nutrient utilization. In this review, we highlight the critical points to address current nanotechnology-based agricultural research that could benefit productivity and food security in future.