their perceived advantages of high stability, selectivity and
degradability. However, their research and application must
be proceeded with good amount of caution, regarding their
effects on the environment and human health in the long run.
• Environmental interaction and fate
The environmental and geological cycling of ENPs is still
being intensively researched. This includes the fate of
nano-carriers after unloading of the pesticides and solid
nano-pesticides must be studied to determine the eventual
sink and pathways taken by nano-pesticides over time.
Realistic environmental research into the fate of these
nano-pesticides remain scare and existing environmental
models, lacking accurate parameters, cannot predict the
environmental fate and effects of nano-materials (Kah and
Hofmann 2014; Kookana et al. 2014). The additional
environmental parameters, which need to be determined
for nano-pesticides and nano-pollutants in general over
and beyond conventional pesticides or pollutants, are their
concentration, particle density, particle size, particle
shape, surface porosity, bound or free, and agglomeration,
etc. (Kookana et al. 2014).
• Nano-toxicity
The toxicity of ENPs like nano-fertilizers and
nano-pesticides is still not fully known. This is important
to note for both, the solid nano-pesticides as well as
conventional pesticides, that their properties and thus
toxicity might change, when they are in their nano-form
(Hayles et al. 2017). Also, there needs to be more research
regarding the combined toxicity of the active ingredients,
pesticides and the nano-carriers (Sun et al. 2019).
5 Outlook and Future Directions
The often-conflicting objectives of feeding the ever-growing
human population and preserving the environment and by
extension human health itself are leading to research and
application of novel agrochemicals and agricultural methods.
Our current use of agrochemicals, primarily conventional fertilizers and pesticides are not only unsustainable but also
detrimental to human health. Overuse of agrochemicals like
fertilizers has led to several major environmental issues such as
disturbing the nutrient cycles, overloading of natural nutrient
sinks and unbalancing of the soil pH. Likewise, non-specific
toxicity, biological magnification of toxicants, disturbance of
native soil microflora and fauna, etc., are major concerns in
case of pesticides. Engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) used as
nano-agrochemicals in the form of nano-fertilizers and
nano-pesticides help overcome many of the shortcomings of
conventional agrochemicals. Most important issues include
non-targeted delivery, physicochemical degradation and soil
contamination by conventional fertilizers, which may be solved
by nano-fertilizers and nano-pesticides by exploiting unique
properties of nanoscale materials to increase the specificity,
stability, decrease in toxicity and dosage required. However,
much more research is needed to study the environmental fate
and ecotoxicity of these ENPs-based nano-agrochemicals
before their widespread adoption and applications.
Acknowledgements MK would like to thank the research and
development grant of University of Delhi, Delhi.
Conflict of Interest None to declare.
References
Abigail E, Chidambaram R (2017) Nanotechnology in herbicide
resistance. In: Seehra M (ed) Nanostructured materials: fabrication
to applications. IntechOpen, London, pp 207–212
Adhikari T, Sarkar D, Mashayekhi H, Xing B (2016) Growth and
enzymatic activity of maize (Zea mays L.) plant: solution culture
test for copper dioxide nano particles. J Plant Nutr 39:99–115
Adisa IO, Pullagurala VLR, Peralta-Videa JR, Dimkpa CO, Elmer WH,
Gardea-Torresdey JL, White JC (2019) Recent advances in
nano-enabled fertilizers and pesticides: a critical review of mechanisms of action. Environ Sci Nano 6:2002–2030
Aktar W, Sengupta D, Chowdhury A (2009) Impact of pesticides use in
agriculture: their benefits and hazards. Inter Discip Toxicol 2:1–12
Amirnia R, Bayat M, Tajbakhsh M (2014) Effects of nano fertilizer
application and maternal corm weight on flowering at some saffron
(Crocus sativus L.) ecotypes. Turk J Field Crops 19:158–168
Atafar Z, Mesdaghinia A, Nouri J, Homaee M, Yunesian M, Ahmadimoghaddam M, Mahvi AH (2010) Effect of fertilizer application on
soil heavy metal concentration. Environ Monit Assess 160:83–89
Aziz HMA, Hasaneen MN, Omer AM (2016) Nano chitosan-NPK
fertilizer enhances the growth and productivity of wheat plants
grown in sandy soil. Span J Agric Res 14:17
Balaure PC, Gudovan D, Gudovan I (2017) Nanopesticides: a new
paradigm in crop protection. In: Grumezescu AM (ed) New
pesticides and soil sensors. Academic Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, pp 129–192
Carvalho FP (2017) Pesticides, environment, and food safety. Food
Energy Secur 6:48–60
Chhipa H (2017) Nanofertilizers and nanopesticides for agriculture.
Environ Chem Lett 15:15–22
Das SK (2013) Mode of action of pesticides and the novel trends–a
critical review. Int Res J Agri Sci Soil Sci 3:393–401
Das SK, Mondal T (2014) Mode of action of herbicides and recent
trends in development: a reappraisal. Int J Agric Soil Sci 2:27–32
Devi PI, Thomas J, Raju RK (2017) Pesticide consumption in India: a
spatiotemporal analysis. Agric Econ Res 29:163–172
Duhan JS, Kumar R, Kumar N, Kaur P, Nehra K, Duhan S (2017)
Nanotechnology: the new perspective in precision agriculture.
Biotechnol Rep 15:11–23
Eichert T, Kurtz A, Steiner U, Goldbach HE (2008) Size exclusion
limits and lateral heterogeneity of the stomatal foliar uptake
pathway for aqueous solutes and water-suspended nanoparticles.
Physiol Plant 134:151–160
162
N. Sarkar et al.
degradability. However, their research and application must
be proceeded with good amount of caution, regarding their
effects on the environment and human health in the long run.
• Environmental interaction and fate
The environmental and geological cycling of ENPs is still
being intensively researched. This includes the fate of
nano-carriers after unloading of the pesticides and solid
nano-pesticides must be studied to determine the eventual
sink and pathways taken by nano-pesticides over time.
Realistic environmental research into the fate of these
nano-pesticides remain scare and existing environmental
models, lacking accurate parameters, cannot predict the
environmental fate and effects of nano-materials (Kah and
Hofmann 2014; Kookana et al. 2014). The additional
environmental parameters, which need to be determined
for nano-pesticides and nano-pollutants in general over
and beyond conventional pesticides or pollutants, are their
concentration, particle density, particle size, particle
shape, surface porosity, bound or free, and agglomeration,
etc. (Kookana et al. 2014).
• Nano-toxicity
The toxicity of ENPs like nano-fertilizers and
nano-pesticides is still not fully known. This is important
to note for both, the solid nano-pesticides as well as
conventional pesticides, that their properties and thus
toxicity might change, when they are in their nano-form
(Hayles et al. 2017). Also, there needs to be more research
regarding the combined toxicity of the active ingredients,
pesticides and the nano-carriers (Sun et al. 2019).
5 Outlook and Future Directions
The often-conflicting objectives of feeding the ever-growing
human population and preserving the environment and by
extension human health itself are leading to research and
application of novel agrochemicals and agricultural methods.
Our current use of agrochemicals, primarily conventional fertilizers and pesticides are not only unsustainable but also
detrimental to human health. Overuse of agrochemicals like
fertilizers has led to several major environmental issues such as
disturbing the nutrient cycles, overloading of natural nutrient
sinks and unbalancing of the soil pH. Likewise, non-specific
toxicity, biological magnification of toxicants, disturbance of
native soil microflora and fauna, etc., are major concerns in
case of pesticides. Engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) used as
nano-agrochemicals in the form of nano-fertilizers and
nano-pesticides help overcome many of the shortcomings of
conventional agrochemicals. Most important issues include
non-targeted delivery, physicochemical degradation and soil
contamination by conventional fertilizers, which may be solved
by nano-fertilizers and nano-pesticides by exploiting unique
properties of nanoscale materials to increase the specificity,
stability, decrease in toxicity and dosage required. However,
much more research is needed to study the environmental fate
and ecotoxicity of these ENPs-based nano-agrochemicals
before their widespread adoption and applications.
Acknowledgements MK would like to thank the research and
development grant of University of Delhi, Delhi.
Conflict of Interest None to declare.
References
Abigail E, Chidambaram R (2017) Nanotechnology in herbicide
resistance. In: Seehra M (ed) Nanostructured materials: fabrication
to applications. IntechOpen, London, pp 207–212
Adhikari T, Sarkar D, Mashayekhi H, Xing B (2016) Growth and
enzymatic activity of maize (Zea mays L.) plant: solution culture
test for copper dioxide nano particles. J Plant Nutr 39:99–115
Adisa IO, Pullagurala VLR, Peralta-Videa JR, Dimkpa CO, Elmer WH,
Gardea-Torresdey JL, White JC (2019) Recent advances in
nano-enabled fertilizers and pesticides: a critical review of mechanisms of action. Environ Sci Nano 6:2002–2030
Aktar W, Sengupta D, Chowdhury A (2009) Impact of pesticides use in
agriculture: their benefits and hazards. Inter Discip Toxicol 2:1–12
Amirnia R, Bayat M, Tajbakhsh M (2014) Effects of nano fertilizer
application and maternal corm weight on flowering at some saffron
(Crocus sativus L.) ecotypes. Turk J Field Crops 19:158–168
Atafar Z, Mesdaghinia A, Nouri J, Homaee M, Yunesian M, Ahmadimoghaddam M, Mahvi AH (2010) Effect of fertilizer application on
soil heavy metal concentration. Environ Monit Assess 160:83–89
Aziz HMA, Hasaneen MN, Omer AM (2016) Nano chitosan-NPK
fertilizer enhances the growth and productivity of wheat plants
grown in sandy soil. Span J Agric Res 14:17
Balaure PC, Gudovan D, Gudovan I (2017) Nanopesticides: a new
paradigm in crop protection. In: Grumezescu AM (ed) New
pesticides and soil sensors. Academic Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, pp 129–192
Carvalho FP (2017) Pesticides, environment, and food safety. Food
Energy Secur 6:48–60
Chhipa H (2017) Nanofertilizers and nanopesticides for agriculture.
Environ Chem Lett 15:15–22
Das SK (2013) Mode of action of pesticides and the novel trends–a
critical review. Int Res J Agri Sci Soil Sci 3:393–401
Das SK, Mondal T (2014) Mode of action of herbicides and recent
trends in development: a reappraisal. Int J Agric Soil Sci 2:27–32
Devi PI, Thomas J, Raju RK (2017) Pesticide consumption in India: a
spatiotemporal analysis. Agric Econ Res 29:163–172
Duhan JS, Kumar R, Kumar N, Kaur P, Nehra K, Duhan S (2017)
Nanotechnology: the new perspective in precision agriculture.
Biotechnol Rep 15:11–23
Eichert T, Kurtz A, Steiner U, Goldbach HE (2008) Size exclusion
limits and lateral heterogeneity of the stomatal foliar uptake
pathway for aqueous solutes and water-suspended nanoparticles.
Physiol Plant 134:151–160
162
N. Sarkar et al.