Nanotechnology in Agriculture, the Food
Sector, and Remediation: Prospects,
Relations, and Constraints
1
Anna Gorczyca, Ewa Pociecha, and Ewelina Matras
Abstract
The applications and benefits of nanotechnology in the agricultural and food
sector are now established as a matter of fact, but scientists still have a problem to
properly acknowledge the influence of nanocompounds on the environment. We
are starting to use nanopesticides and nanofertilizers, but the effects they have on
organisms in the environment can be diverse in nature – ranging from the
beneficial to the harmful. Environmental microbiome can be strongly modified
by nanoparticles. Soil microbiomes are the basis for healthy plants and crops. At
the same time, the unique properties of nanomaterials make them particularly
suitable for environmental remediation due to their high surface area-to-volume
ratio, which often results in higher reactivity. Nanomaterials are starting to be
used for the remediation of problematic contaminants (organic and organophosphorus compounds, volatile organic compounds, some heavy metals, or
herbicides), and such use offers some very promising prospects. This chapter
provides an overview of nanotechnology in general, including a description of the
main categories of nanomaterials, the utilization of nanotechnology in the agricultural and food sector, as well as the use of nanomaterials in environmental
remediation. Lastly, some toxicological aspects of nanomaterials present in the
environment are presented on the basis of the scientific literature in the field.
A. Gorczyca (*) · E. Matras
Department of Microbiology and Biomonitoring, Faculty of Agriculture and Economics, University
of Agriculture in Krakow, Krakow, Poland
e-mail: rrgorczy@cyf-kr.edu.pl; ewelina.matras@urk.edu.pl
E. Pociecha
Department of Plant Breeding, Physiology and Seed Science, Faculty of Agriculture and
Economics, University of Agriculture in Krakow, Krakow, Poland
e-mail: rrchilmo@cyf-kr.edu.pl
# Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
R. Prasad (ed.), Environmental Pollution and Remediation, Environmental and
Microbial Biotechnology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-5499-5_1
1
Sector, and Remediation: Prospects,
Relations, and Constraints
1
Anna Gorczyca, Ewa Pociecha, and Ewelina Matras
Abstract
The applications and benefits of nanotechnology in the agricultural and food
sector are now established as a matter of fact, but scientists still have a problem to
properly acknowledge the influence of nanocompounds on the environment. We
are starting to use nanopesticides and nanofertilizers, but the effects they have on
organisms in the environment can be diverse in nature – ranging from the
beneficial to the harmful. Environmental microbiome can be strongly modified
by nanoparticles. Soil microbiomes are the basis for healthy plants and crops. At
the same time, the unique properties of nanomaterials make them particularly
suitable for environmental remediation due to their high surface area-to-volume
ratio, which often results in higher reactivity. Nanomaterials are starting to be
used for the remediation of problematic contaminants (organic and organophosphorus compounds, volatile organic compounds, some heavy metals, or
herbicides), and such use offers some very promising prospects. This chapter
provides an overview of nanotechnology in general, including a description of the
main categories of nanomaterials, the utilization of nanotechnology in the agricultural and food sector, as well as the use of nanomaterials in environmental
remediation. Lastly, some toxicological aspects of nanomaterials present in the
environment are presented on the basis of the scientific literature in the field.
A. Gorczyca (*) · E. Matras
Department of Microbiology and Biomonitoring, Faculty of Agriculture and Economics, University
of Agriculture in Krakow, Krakow, Poland
e-mail: rrgorczy@cyf-kr.edu.pl; ewelina.matras@urk.edu.pl
E. Pociecha
Department of Plant Breeding, Physiology and Seed Science, Faculty of Agriculture and
Economics, University of Agriculture in Krakow, Krakow, Poland
e-mail: rrchilmo@cyf-kr.edu.pl
# Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
R. Prasad (ed.), Environmental Pollution and Remediation, Environmental and
Microbial Biotechnology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-5499-5_1
1