weedicides, pesticides, and insecticides is well recognized to
interfere with the soil physical, chemical, and biological
characteristics (Belay et al. 2002; Zhang et al. 2008; Afsar
et al. 2017; Daam et al. 2020). The introduction of agrochemicals alone or in combination with organic amendments
may considerably modify pH, moisture content, aggregate
structure, porosity, bulk density, metal enrichment, water
holding attributes, ion exchange characteristics of soil (Hati
et al. 2006; Carbonell et al. 2011; Yargholi and Azarneshan
2014) and activity of organisms including microbes (Rahman et al. 2020), arthropods, annelids (Frampton et al.
2006), etc., leading to loss in productivity potential of
agro-ecosystems (Förster et al. 2006).
Land degradation exerting degenerating impacts on natural environment (Wang et al. 2020) is widely reported
across the globe influencing the crop productivity, therefore
economic status of both developing and developed countries. Restoration of such ecologically disturbed soil could be
helpful in meeting the exponentially rising demand of food.
Restoration of degraded lands is chiefly based on
physico-chemical and biological strategies with each method
having advantages as well as disadvantages (Silva et al.
2015; Mohammed and Denboba 2020; Singh et al. 2020).
The application of nanotechnology producing enormous
quantity of nanomaterials possessing potential in management of degraded soil is quite attractive and promising. The
nanoparticles comprising of both metals and non-metals
could be exploited to facilitate the restoration of degraded
land areas (Fajardo et al. 2019; Latif et al. 2020). Some of
the worth mentioning nanoparticles having significance in
the management of ecologically unhealthy soil, contaminated water, and wastewater include carbon, manganese,
iron, and titanium (An and Zhao 2012; Ghasemi et al. 2017;
Gong et al. 2018; Yang et al. 2020).
Metal-based nanoparticles after entry into agro-ecosystem
may get access to different environmental components.
Incorporation of metals released, apart from nanoparticles
itself in food chain, ultimately threatens human health
(Tombuloglu et al. 2020; Rajput et al., 2020b). Precise
determination of nanoparticles, therefore, is necessary to
assess the impact to natural ecosystem. Development of
rapid assessment techniques would not only help mitigate
the toxicity but also transfer and accumulate in other environmental matrices.
Nanoparticles of different metals have received considerable attention in agricultural practices with an objective to
improve the functionality and thereby productivity of
degraded lands. Land management practices deploying
nanoparticles have the potential to help resurrect the productivity of ecologically disturbed soils. For instance,
nanostructured
formulations
of
nitrogenand
phosphorus-based fertilizers could help improve the crop
productivity (Sekhon 2014) by substantially modifying the
soil properties to a greater extent. The introduction of
engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) into agro-ecosystems may
directly and indirectly modify the soil characteristics.
Alterations in humic substances and bacterial community
characteristics upon the application of metal oxide
nanoparticles in soil (Ben-Moshe et al. 2013; Rajput et al.
2018) are presented. In addition, minor changes in soil
macroscopic attributes had also been observed. Although
most of the investigations have demonstrated the negative
consequences of nanoparticles application to soil environment (Rajput et al. 2020c), the beneficial impacts on soil
are also documented. The contribution of iron oxide
nanoparticles in sequestration of environmentally hazardous
metals includes arsenic, manganese, chromium, cadmium,
and lead (Shipley et al. 2011), therefore reduction in toxicity leads to improvement in soil productivity and is of
immense ecological significance. Therefore, nanoparticles
are helpful in soil amelioration leading to creation of
additional land (Liu and Lal 2012) for agricultural activities. Extensive investigations on ENPs exhibiting compatibility with soil components may be helpful in improving
the productivity of degraded lands. Exploration of the
mechanism of soil productivity improvement caused by
certain ENPs may provide important boulevard for the
management of less productive soils in order to feed the
continuously rising human population. Fate and transport in
soil environment as well as detailed understandings of
ENPs uptake would facilitate in escaping the toxicity to soil
microbes and invertebrates.
The present chapter offers recent information concerned
with ENPs application in agro-ecosystems, quantification
techniques, impacts on soil physical, chemical and biological
characteristics, and potential opportunities in reclamation
responsible for improved productivity of less fertile soil.
2 Engineered Nanoparticle Application
in Agriculture
Because of unique physico-chemical characteristics, so far,
myriads of nanoparticles have been used in agriculture in
order to improve the crop productivity. Nanoparticles comprising of single metal as well as complexes of metals have
been employed in agriculture to meet the rising demand of
global food. Additionally, the wide applications of
non-metal-based nanomaterials like carbon are also reported.
A systematic review dealing with contribution of considerably less explored silicon nanoparticles in agriculture is
presented by Rastogi et al. (2019). Study on role of
nanoformulated zinc and silicon in enhancement of mango
productivity by mitigation of salt stress as achieved by foliar
spray is recently demonstrated by Elsheery et al. (2020). The
concentrations of nanozinc and nanosilicon used either
120
V. K. Singh et al.
interfere with the soil physical, chemical, and biological
characteristics (Belay et al. 2002; Zhang et al. 2008; Afsar
et al. 2017; Daam et al. 2020). The introduction of agrochemicals alone or in combination with organic amendments
may considerably modify pH, moisture content, aggregate
structure, porosity, bulk density, metal enrichment, water
holding attributes, ion exchange characteristics of soil (Hati
et al. 2006; Carbonell et al. 2011; Yargholi and Azarneshan
2014) and activity of organisms including microbes (Rahman et al. 2020), arthropods, annelids (Frampton et al.
2006), etc., leading to loss in productivity potential of
agro-ecosystems (Förster et al. 2006).
Land degradation exerting degenerating impacts on natural environment (Wang et al. 2020) is widely reported
across the globe influencing the crop productivity, therefore
economic status of both developing and developed countries. Restoration of such ecologically disturbed soil could be
helpful in meeting the exponentially rising demand of food.
Restoration of degraded lands is chiefly based on
physico-chemical and biological strategies with each method
having advantages as well as disadvantages (Silva et al.
2015; Mohammed and Denboba 2020; Singh et al. 2020).
The application of nanotechnology producing enormous
quantity of nanomaterials possessing potential in management of degraded soil is quite attractive and promising. The
nanoparticles comprising of both metals and non-metals
could be exploited to facilitate the restoration of degraded
land areas (Fajardo et al. 2019; Latif et al. 2020). Some of
the worth mentioning nanoparticles having significance in
the management of ecologically unhealthy soil, contaminated water, and wastewater include carbon, manganese,
iron, and titanium (An and Zhao 2012; Ghasemi et al. 2017;
Gong et al. 2018; Yang et al. 2020).
Metal-based nanoparticles after entry into agro-ecosystem
may get access to different environmental components.
Incorporation of metals released, apart from nanoparticles
itself in food chain, ultimately threatens human health
(Tombuloglu et al. 2020; Rajput et al., 2020b). Precise
determination of nanoparticles, therefore, is necessary to
assess the impact to natural ecosystem. Development of
rapid assessment techniques would not only help mitigate
the toxicity but also transfer and accumulate in other environmental matrices.
Nanoparticles of different metals have received considerable attention in agricultural practices with an objective to
improve the functionality and thereby productivity of
degraded lands. Land management practices deploying
nanoparticles have the potential to help resurrect the productivity of ecologically disturbed soils. For instance,
nanostructured
formulations
of
nitrogenand
phosphorus-based fertilizers could help improve the crop
productivity (Sekhon 2014) by substantially modifying the
soil properties to a greater extent. The introduction of
engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) into agro-ecosystems may
directly and indirectly modify the soil characteristics.
Alterations in humic substances and bacterial community
characteristics upon the application of metal oxide
nanoparticles in soil (Ben-Moshe et al. 2013; Rajput et al.
2018) are presented. In addition, minor changes in soil
macroscopic attributes had also been observed. Although
most of the investigations have demonstrated the negative
consequences of nanoparticles application to soil environment (Rajput et al. 2020c), the beneficial impacts on soil
are also documented. The contribution of iron oxide
nanoparticles in sequestration of environmentally hazardous
metals includes arsenic, manganese, chromium, cadmium,
and lead (Shipley et al. 2011), therefore reduction in toxicity leads to improvement in soil productivity and is of
immense ecological significance. Therefore, nanoparticles
are helpful in soil amelioration leading to creation of
additional land (Liu and Lal 2012) for agricultural activities. Extensive investigations on ENPs exhibiting compatibility with soil components may be helpful in improving
the productivity of degraded lands. Exploration of the
mechanism of soil productivity improvement caused by
certain ENPs may provide important boulevard for the
management of less productive soils in order to feed the
continuously rising human population. Fate and transport in
soil environment as well as detailed understandings of
ENPs uptake would facilitate in escaping the toxicity to soil
microbes and invertebrates.
The present chapter offers recent information concerned
with ENPs application in agro-ecosystems, quantification
techniques, impacts on soil physical, chemical and biological
characteristics, and potential opportunities in reclamation
responsible for improved productivity of less fertile soil.
2 Engineered Nanoparticle Application
in Agriculture
Because of unique physico-chemical characteristics, so far,
myriads of nanoparticles have been used in agriculture in
order to improve the crop productivity. Nanoparticles comprising of single metal as well as complexes of metals have
been employed in agriculture to meet the rising demand of
global food. Additionally, the wide applications of
non-metal-based nanomaterials like carbon are also reported.
A systematic review dealing with contribution of considerably less explored silicon nanoparticles in agriculture is
presented by Rastogi et al. (2019). Study on role of
nanoformulated zinc and silicon in enhancement of mango
productivity by mitigation of salt stress as achieved by foliar
spray is recently demonstrated by Elsheery et al. (2020). The
concentrations of nanozinc and nanosilicon used either
120
V. K. Singh et al.