Chapter 5
Nanotechnology in Wheat Production
and Protection
Prem Lal Kashyap, Sudheer Kumar, Poonam Jasrotia, Devendra Pal Singh,
and Gyanendra Pratap Singh
Contents
5.1
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
5.2
Nanomaterials Migration in Wheat Plants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
5.3
Seed Germination, Growth and Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
5.4
Biotic Stress Alleviation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
5.5
Abiotic Stress Alleviation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
5.5.1 Drought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
5.5.2 Salinity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
5.5.3 Other Abiotic Stresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
5.6
Surveillance, Monitoring, and Detection of Wheat Disease and Insect Pests . . . . . . . . . . 181
5.7
Controlled and Targeted Release of Fertilizers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
5.8
Nanotechnology for Storage, Quality Control, and Food Grain Packaging . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
5.9
Toxicity and Adverse Effects of Nanomaterials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 184
5.10 Future Challenges and Directions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
5.11 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Abstract Wheat (Triticum aestivum) is one of the principal staple food grain crops
of the world. Wheat is constantly suffering from plethora of biotic and abiotic
stresses leading to huge economic losses. To address these challenges, innovative
technologies which have potential to enhance wheat yield and reduce the risk of
various biotic and environmental stresses are required to be introduced in modern
agriculture. Among these technological advancements, nanotechnology is gathering
significant contemplation due to its wide spectrum applications in devising
nanofertilizer, nanopesticide, nanoherbicide, nanosensor, and smart delivery systems for controlled and sustained release of agrochemicals in agriculture. So far,
both beneficial and negative effects of nanoproducts on agronomic traits, yield, and
productivity of plants including modification in the nutritional value of food crops
have been observed. The efficacy of nanomaterial also depends on mechanism and
pathways of penetration, uptake, and migration of nanoparticles along with
P. L. Kashyap (*) · S. Kumar · P. Jasrotia · D. P. Singh · G. P. Singh
ICAR-Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research (IIWBR), Karnal, India
e-mail: Prem.Kashyap@icar.gov.in
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
N. Dasgupta et al. (eds.), Environmental Nanotechnology Volume 4, Environmental
Chemistry for a Sustainable World 32, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26668-4_5
165
Nanotechnology in Wheat Production
and Protection
Prem Lal Kashyap, Sudheer Kumar, Poonam Jasrotia, Devendra Pal Singh,
and Gyanendra Pratap Singh
Contents
5.1
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
5.2
Nanomaterials Migration in Wheat Plants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
5.3
Seed Germination, Growth and Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
5.4
Biotic Stress Alleviation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
5.5
Abiotic Stress Alleviation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
5.5.1 Drought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
5.5.2 Salinity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
5.5.3 Other Abiotic Stresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
5.6
Surveillance, Monitoring, and Detection of Wheat Disease and Insect Pests . . . . . . . . . . 181
5.7
Controlled and Targeted Release of Fertilizers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
5.8
Nanotechnology for Storage, Quality Control, and Food Grain Packaging . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
5.9
Toxicity and Adverse Effects of Nanomaterials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 184
5.10 Future Challenges and Directions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
5.11 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Abstract Wheat (Triticum aestivum) is one of the principal staple food grain crops
of the world. Wheat is constantly suffering from plethora of biotic and abiotic
stresses leading to huge economic losses. To address these challenges, innovative
technologies which have potential to enhance wheat yield and reduce the risk of
various biotic and environmental stresses are required to be introduced in modern
agriculture. Among these technological advancements, nanotechnology is gathering
significant contemplation due to its wide spectrum applications in devising
nanofertilizer, nanopesticide, nanoherbicide, nanosensor, and smart delivery systems for controlled and sustained release of agrochemicals in agriculture. So far,
both beneficial and negative effects of nanoproducts on agronomic traits, yield, and
productivity of plants including modification in the nutritional value of food crops
have been observed. The efficacy of nanomaterial also depends on mechanism and
pathways of penetration, uptake, and migration of nanoparticles along with
P. L. Kashyap (*) · S. Kumar · P. Jasrotia · D. P. Singh · G. P. Singh
ICAR-Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research (IIWBR), Karnal, India
e-mail: Prem.Kashyap@icar.gov.in
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
N. Dasgupta et al. (eds.), Environmental Nanotechnology Volume 4, Environmental
Chemistry for a Sustainable World 32, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26668-4_5
165