Plant Physiological Responses to Engineered
Nanoparticles
Ahmed Abdul Haleem Khan
Abstract
Plants are reared in and around the world for a variety of
purposes. The peasant community cultivates the same crop
in continuous manner that result in more economic losses
due to multiple reasons. The common among them may be
diseases by pathogenic microorganisms and parasites
(insect pests, nematodes), micronutrient deficiency and
weeds. The green revolution introduced a number of
agrochemicals to improve the crop yield, but prolonged use
turned these complex organic compounds into recalcitrant
and xenobiotics of ecosystem. The demand for sustainable
agriculture has been introduced to improve the yield and
meet the supplies as required. The rise in synthesis of
particles of nanoscale with wide range of metal oxides such
as Ag, Au, Al, Cd, Ce, Cu, Co, Fe, G, Ni, Mg, Pt, Pd, Mn,
Ti, Zn was known to be beneficial in different fields. The
nanoparticle synthesis is known to be done by different
approaches like physical, chemical and biological (plant
materials, bacteria and fungi). The nanoparticle applications in the field of agriculture are not as popular as
compared to other allied aspects (medicine, pharmacy).
There is progress in laboratory-level studies that could
make nanoparticle-based products in agriculture as a
substitute to agrochemicals. This chapter is intended to
discuss the developments in the field of nanoparticles as a
success story that proved the potential of nanoscale
components as plant growth stimulants, fungicide, pest
control, weedicides and micronutrient supply.
Keywords
Agrochemicals Á Crop plants Á Growth responses Á
Phytohormones Á Phytotoxicity
1 Introduction
Plants are known to be autotrophic growing by acquiring
solar energy and other requirements from substratum via the
root system. The underground part root absorbs mineral
nutrients required for growth and development from soil.
The physiology and phenology of plants responds to the
availability of mineral nutrients in the form of growth and
reproduction. The deficiency and excess in minerals in plants
expressed as symptoms, leads to several ill effects. Agriculture, an important source of food and feed around the
globe, is facing challenge with increase in human population. The advent of the green revolution in 1970 changed the
scenario to be profitable for the peasant community. The
extensive use of synthetic chemicals developed an alarm to
save the ecosystem. The series of approaches lead to go with
smart/climate-resilient crops for reducing the threats for
upcoming generations (Khan et al. 2017).
Nanoscale materials are natural or man-made/engineered
forms that serve superior to bulk form. The nanoparticle
(NPs) exist in size range <100 nm with spherical, tubular,
irregular in shape found in single, fused or agglomerated
forms in homologous or heterogeneous composition
(Table 1). Nanotechnology has been applied in the field of
farming systems to improve the yields of crop with minimizing the inputs. To overcome hazardous fertilizers,
pesticides/insecticides, weedicides/herbicides, fungicides,
and antibiotics nanoscale materials are exploited as a part of
sustainable agriculture (Tables 2, 3, 4 and 5). The common
fact is the applied fertilizers for nitrogen and phosphorus are
absorbed by plants (30–50%) and the efficiency of absorption is low, and the possibility of interference with substratum increases and creates havoc. The nanoscale fertilizers
increased the nutrient absorption efficiency with enhanced
crop productivity. The important problem of agriculture is
weed, pathogens (virus, fungi, bacteria, pests, nematodes)
that reduce the crop yield.
A. A. H. Khan (&)
Department of Botany, Telangana University, Nizamabad,
503322, (T.S.), India
e-mail: aahaleemkhan@gmail.com
© 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_6
85
Nanoparticles
Ahmed Abdul Haleem Khan
Abstract
Plants are reared in and around the world for a variety of
purposes. The peasant community cultivates the same crop
in continuous manner that result in more economic losses
due to multiple reasons. The common among them may be
diseases by pathogenic microorganisms and parasites
(insect pests, nematodes), micronutrient deficiency and
weeds. The green revolution introduced a number of
agrochemicals to improve the crop yield, but prolonged use
turned these complex organic compounds into recalcitrant
and xenobiotics of ecosystem. The demand for sustainable
agriculture has been introduced to improve the yield and
meet the supplies as required. The rise in synthesis of
particles of nanoscale with wide range of metal oxides such
as Ag, Au, Al, Cd, Ce, Cu, Co, Fe, G, Ni, Mg, Pt, Pd, Mn,
Ti, Zn was known to be beneficial in different fields. The
nanoparticle synthesis is known to be done by different
approaches like physical, chemical and biological (plant
materials, bacteria and fungi). The nanoparticle applications in the field of agriculture are not as popular as
compared to other allied aspects (medicine, pharmacy).
There is progress in laboratory-level studies that could
make nanoparticle-based products in agriculture as a
substitute to agrochemicals. This chapter is intended to
discuss the developments in the field of nanoparticles as a
success story that proved the potential of nanoscale
components as plant growth stimulants, fungicide, pest
control, weedicides and micronutrient supply.
Keywords
Agrochemicals Á Crop plants Á Growth responses Á
Phytohormones Á Phytotoxicity
1 Introduction
Plants are known to be autotrophic growing by acquiring
solar energy and other requirements from substratum via the
root system. The underground part root absorbs mineral
nutrients required for growth and development from soil.
The physiology and phenology of plants responds to the
availability of mineral nutrients in the form of growth and
reproduction. The deficiency and excess in minerals in plants
expressed as symptoms, leads to several ill effects. Agriculture, an important source of food and feed around the
globe, is facing challenge with increase in human population. The advent of the green revolution in 1970 changed the
scenario to be profitable for the peasant community. The
extensive use of synthetic chemicals developed an alarm to
save the ecosystem. The series of approaches lead to go with
smart/climate-resilient crops for reducing the threats for
upcoming generations (Khan et al. 2017).
Nanoscale materials are natural or man-made/engineered
forms that serve superior to bulk form. The nanoparticle
(NPs) exist in size range <100 nm with spherical, tubular,
irregular in shape found in single, fused or agglomerated
forms in homologous or heterogeneous composition
(Table 1). Nanotechnology has been applied in the field of
farming systems to improve the yields of crop with minimizing the inputs. To overcome hazardous fertilizers,
pesticides/insecticides, weedicides/herbicides, fungicides,
and antibiotics nanoscale materials are exploited as a part of
sustainable agriculture (Tables 2, 3, 4 and 5). The common
fact is the applied fertilizers for nitrogen and phosphorus are
absorbed by plants (30–50%) and the efficiency of absorption is low, and the possibility of interference with substratum increases and creates havoc. The nanoscale fertilizers
increased the nutrient absorption efficiency with enhanced
crop productivity. The important problem of agriculture is
weed, pathogens (virus, fungi, bacteria, pests, nematodes)
that reduce the crop yield.
A. A. H. Khan (&)
Department of Botany, Telangana University, Nizamabad,
503322, (T.S.), India
e-mail: aahaleemkhan@gmail.com
© 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_6
85