Role of nanotechnology in enhancing crop production and produce quality.

What is a Nanotechnology?

• Manipulation of matter with at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometers.

• Nanotechnology may be able to create many new materials and devices with a vast range of applications, such as in nanomedicine, nanoelectronics, biomaterials energy production, and consumer products.

Nanotech in Agriculture?

• Nanotechnology has played a pivotal role in the field of genetic engineering and plant transformations, making it a desirable candidate in the optimization and manipulation of cultivated plants.

• Properties such as cation exchange capacity, enhanced diffusion, ion adsorption, and complexation are enhanced when operating at nanoscale.

• Nanoparticles are promising candidates for implementation in agriculture. Because many organic functions such as ion exchange and plant gene expression operate on small scales, nanomaterials offer a toolset that works at just the right scale to provide efficient, targeted delivery to living cells

Current areas of focus of nanotechnology development in the agricultural industry include development of environmentally conscious nano fertilizers to provide efficient ion, nutrient delivery into plant cells, and plant gene transformations to produce plants with desirable genes such as drought resistance and accelerated growth cycles.

• With rise of Global population, increase of food consumption has been rapidly surge up. To maintain a steadiness in both the food consumption and crop production, involvement of Advanced technologies and development of sustainable agricultural methods that generate higher yields in throughout yearly harvesting in order to meet the requirement of food consumptions.

In recent years, as applications of nanotechnology have exhibited promise in many fields of study, an increasing number of government, scientific, and independent institutional bodies have seen the potential of nanotechnology in making significant contributions to alleviating the burden of the global food supply.

VARIOUS USES OF NANO-TECH IN AGRICULTURAL FIELD:

NANO-SENSORS:

Nano Sensors are nanoscale devices that measure physical quantities and convert these to signals that can be detected and analyzed.

• Basic workflow: a selective binding of an analyte, signal generation from the interaction of the Nano sensor with the bio-element, and processing of the signal into useful metrics.

• These sensors are accurate, efficient, and cost-effective in dealing with various food, agriculture, and environmental issues.

• Such applications of nano sensors help in a convenient, rapid, and ultrasensitive assessment of many types of environmental pollutants.

• The probe, transducer and detector are major components of a biosensor or nano sensors.

• The probe consists of biologically sensitized elements such as receptors, enzymes, antibodies, nucleic acids, microorganisms and organelles either a biologically developed element or bio-mime constituent. It collects signals arising out from analyte then forwards them to the transducer. The latter measures the changes occurring as a result of response on the biological component and transforms the energy into calculable electrical output.

• The transducer differentiates the information which is obtained from the probe into detector or operator. These signals after amplification are analyzed, and the data collected is shifted to output where it is displayed or saved.

• Soil diagnosis with this nano sensor was based on the principle of computing the relative activity of favorable and unfavorable soil microbes decided on the grounds of differential oxygen utilization during respiration. Biosensors incorporating nanoparticles (NPs) are defined as nano biosensors/nano sensors.

• Nano sensors utilizing electrochemically functional SWCNTs utilizing either NPs or NTs to detect gases, viz. ammonia, nitrogen oxides, Sulphur dioxide and volatile organics, have tremendous implementation in checking agricultural pollutants.

• Utilization of nano sensors to accurately measure the soil criterion (pH, nutrients, residual pesticides and soil moisture), checking of pathogens and estimation of nitrogen uptake helps farmers to utilize inputs more efficiently, thus fostering sustainable agriculture.

• Enzyme biosensors to check the presence of pesticide is established on the computation of enzyme inhibition included in the enzymatic reaction. The optical biosensors use several sensor techniques such as resonant mirrors.

• Several biosensors to detect pesticide mixtures have been designed, viz. methyl parathion, parathion, fenitrothion, pirimicarb and dichlorvos and paraoxon. Some biosensors are developed on the basis of the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition and chemometric result calculations utilizing artificial neural networks.

• Nano sensors can be utilized to determine nutrient, moisture and physiological status of plants which assist in taking up appropriate and timely corrective measures. Intelligent Nano sensors can be used to distribute nutrients according to the crop necessity which are necessary to achieve the mission of precision agriculture.

• nanotechnology to be employed in agricultural arena for continuous, elevated crop outputs, utility, social integrity, bio-protection and environmental sustainability.

NANO -FERTILIZER:

• Nano-fertilizer applications in agriculture may serve as an opportunity to achieve sustainability towards global food production.

• A correct application of Nano-fertilizers can feed plants gradually in a controlled manner along with the benefits of increasing the fertilizer use efficiency and reducing the environmental hazards.

• . Nano-fertilizers have the potential to increase crop productivity by enhancing seed germination, seedling growth, photosynthesis rate, nitrogen metabolism, and protein and carbohydrate synthesis, aside from improving stress tolerance.

• Three classes of Nano-fertilizers:

• 1. Nano-scale fertilizer (nanoparticles which) 2. Nano-scale additives (traditional fertilizers with Nanoscale additives) 3. Nano-scale coating (traditional fertilizers coated or loaded with nanoparticles).

• Approach for production of nano fertilizers in three ways: a) The nutrient can be encapsulated inside nano-porous materials, b) Coated with a thin polymer film, or c) Delivered as particles or emulsions of nano-scales dimensions.

• In this regard, biosensors /nano sensors can be attached to a new innovative fertilizer that controls the delivery of the nutrients according to soil nutrient status, growth period of a crop or environmental conditions.

• Nano-fertilizers increase the bioavailability of nutrients through their high specific surface area, miniature size and high reactivity, with help of balanced nutrition nano fertilizers maintain their conditions by providing and analyzing the Biotic and Abiotic stress conditions in the soil.

• Nano-fertilizers is that they can be synthesized according to the nutrient requirements of intended crops.

NANO-PESTICIDES:

Nano pesticides stand for pesticides formulated in nanomaterials to find applications in the agricultural field, whether specially fixed on a hybrid substrate, encapsulated in a matrix or functionalized nanocarriers for external stimuli or enzyme-mediated triggers.

• Pesticide activities in nanocarrier innovative formulations based on several materials like silica, lipids, polymers, copolymers, ceramic, metal, carbon and others.

• The nano pesticide formulations can increase water solubility, bioavailability and protect agrochemicals against environmental degradation, revolutionizing the control of pathogens, weeds, and insects in the crops.

• It has been noticed that nanoparticles could cause toxicological effects by their biomimetics properties and high ability of distribution and bioaccumulation in soil, water environments, foods, and consequently in all animals, especially in mammals.

• In the formulation, the active ingredient into nano capsule is chemically bound or physically adsorbed in a matrix by different techniques, to be later released by chemical bonds cleavage or by physical diffusion. Using Encapsulation is a process of surrounding one biologically active ingredient with the intention that the core confined material or into capsule walls can be released to the environment under specific conditions over a predetermined time or when external stimuli activate the capsule walls to break, melt or dissolve slowly.

• The innovative materials systems stimuli-responsive at the light, pH, temperature, enzyme, and others has been reported for agrochemical extending release, targeting delivery, decreasing the usage amount, and reducing leaching and drift, and improving the utilization efficiency of the pesticides.

• For example: The toxicity of glyphosate, a non-selective broad-spectrum organophosphate, has been of concern for manufacturers, workers, and food security. The glyphosate and its metabolite, aminomethylphosphonic acid, was found to be responsible for side effects on terrestrial and aquatic organisms.

BY KHAS.