Nanotechnology for Sustainable Crop
Production: Recent Development
and Strategies
Abhishek Kumar, Shilpi Nagar, and Shalini Anand
Abstract
The conventional agricultural farming system has
adversely affected the natural ecosystem with the heavy
use of fertilizers, pesticides and contaminated water
irrigation. Although the conventional agricultural system
plays a significant role in the feeding of world population,
it has also damaged our pristine ecosystem, simultaneously. In order to solve this problem, nanotechnology has
gained a lot of popularity in last few decades. This could
be because of the fact that the traditional farming
techniques are neither able to substantially enhance the
crop production nor are sustainable in the long term. The
intervention of nanotechnology in the agricultural system
has not only improved the crop yield but also restored and
improved the quality of this ecosystem. Moreover,
nanotechnology-based products like nanofertilizers,
nanopesticides, nanoweedicides and nanosensors have
improved the crop yield and income of the farmers. They
have helped in boosting seed germination, photosynthesis
and nutrient levels in soils. Additionally, they have aided
in identifying pest attack and disease prevalence. Simultaneously, they have remediated polluted lands and
filtered polluted waters. Further, these products have
enabled plants to face climate changing scenarios.
Keywords
Climate change Á Nanofertilizers Á Nanoherbicides Á
Nanopesticides Á Nano-robots Á Nanosensors Á
Nanoweedicides
1 Introduction
Human population has been increasing leaps and bounds
since the twenty-first century. With a billion people to feed
at the beginning of nineteenth century, exponential population growth had increased this count to 7 billion by 2011. It
is expected that the 9 billion mark would be reached by 2045
(Van Bavel 2013). Food and nutrition demand would
increase by 70% from its current levels, throughout the
planet (Chen and Yada 2011). With such a large number of
empty stomachs to feed and meet the nutritional demand,
pressure on the natural resources like soil and water would
enhance exceedingly, to grow more and more crops. The
limited natural resources are currently being exploited at
unexpected rates and for the world to sustain in the longer
run, natural resources need to be conserved and preserved
(Cropper and Griffiths 1994). In such a scenario, growing
crops by the utilization of minimal resources become very
critical.
Agriculture has been the most crucial sector since the
dawn of Homo sapiens. It produces crops to feed human
hunger, apart from providing raw materials to various
industries. However, the current situation of agriculture is
not encouraging with prevalence of subsistence farming
being practised on a large scale, uncontrolled and improper
application of agrochemicals, low productivity and
ever-degrading soil quality. The disappointing scenario is
worsened by high poverty levels, illiteracy and negligence
towards environmental degradation (Szargut et al. 2002). It
is the absence of financial resources that pressurize the poor
to go for subsistence farming. Lack of awareness has led to
A. Kumar (&)
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Birla Institute
of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi, Jharkhand, 835215, India
e-mail: abhishekkumar1205@gmail.com
S. Nagar (&)
Department of Environmental Studies, University of Delhi,
New Delhi, Delhi 110007, India
e-mail: shilpinagar7507@gmail.com
S. Nagar Á S. Anand
Center for Fire, Explosive and Environment Safety, DRDO,
New Delhi, Delhi 110054, India
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
P. Singh et al. (eds.), Plant-Microbes-Engineered Nano-particles (PM-ENPs) Nexus in Agro-Ecosystems,
Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66956-0_3
31
Production: Recent Development
and Strategies
Abhishek Kumar, Shilpi Nagar, and Shalini Anand
Abstract
The conventional agricultural farming system has
adversely affected the natural ecosystem with the heavy
use of fertilizers, pesticides and contaminated water
irrigation. Although the conventional agricultural system
plays a significant role in the feeding of world population,
it has also damaged our pristine ecosystem, simultaneously. In order to solve this problem, nanotechnology has
gained a lot of popularity in last few decades. This could
be because of the fact that the traditional farming
techniques are neither able to substantially enhance the
crop production nor are sustainable in the long term. The
intervention of nanotechnology in the agricultural system
has not only improved the crop yield but also restored and
improved the quality of this ecosystem. Moreover,
nanotechnology-based products like nanofertilizers,
nanopesticides, nanoweedicides and nanosensors have
improved the crop yield and income of the farmers. They
have helped in boosting seed germination, photosynthesis
and nutrient levels in soils. Additionally, they have aided
in identifying pest attack and disease prevalence. Simultaneously, they have remediated polluted lands and
filtered polluted waters. Further, these products have
enabled plants to face climate changing scenarios.
Keywords
Climate change Á Nanofertilizers Á Nanoherbicides Á
Nanopesticides Á Nano-robots Á Nanosensors Á
Nanoweedicides
1 Introduction
Human population has been increasing leaps and bounds
since the twenty-first century. With a billion people to feed
at the beginning of nineteenth century, exponential population growth had increased this count to 7 billion by 2011. It
is expected that the 9 billion mark would be reached by 2045
(Van Bavel 2013). Food and nutrition demand would
increase by 70% from its current levels, throughout the
planet (Chen and Yada 2011). With such a large number of
empty stomachs to feed and meet the nutritional demand,
pressure on the natural resources like soil and water would
enhance exceedingly, to grow more and more crops. The
limited natural resources are currently being exploited at
unexpected rates and for the world to sustain in the longer
run, natural resources need to be conserved and preserved
(Cropper and Griffiths 1994). In such a scenario, growing
crops by the utilization of minimal resources become very
critical.
Agriculture has been the most crucial sector since the
dawn of Homo sapiens. It produces crops to feed human
hunger, apart from providing raw materials to various
industries. However, the current situation of agriculture is
not encouraging with prevalence of subsistence farming
being practised on a large scale, uncontrolled and improper
application of agrochemicals, low productivity and
ever-degrading soil quality. The disappointing scenario is
worsened by high poverty levels, illiteracy and negligence
towards environmental degradation (Szargut et al. 2002). It
is the absence of financial resources that pressurize the poor
to go for subsistence farming. Lack of awareness has led to
A. Kumar (&)
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Birla Institute
of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi, Jharkhand, 835215, India
e-mail: abhishekkumar1205@gmail.com
S. Nagar (&)
Department of Environmental Studies, University of Delhi,
New Delhi, Delhi 110007, India
e-mail: shilpinagar7507@gmail.com
S. Nagar Á S. Anand
Center for Fire, Explosive and Environment Safety, DRDO,
New Delhi, Delhi 110054, India
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
P. Singh et al. (eds.), Plant-Microbes-Engineered Nano-particles (PM-ENPs) Nexus in Agro-Ecosystems,
Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66956-0_3
31