Nanotechnology shows high promise in the improvement of agricultural productivity thus aiding future food security. In horticulture, maintaining quality as well as limiting the spoilage of harvested fruit and vegetables is a very challenging task. Various kinds of nanomaterials have shown high potential for increasing productivity, enhancing shelf-life, reducing post-harvest damage and improving the quality of horticultural crops. Antimicrobial nanomaterials as nanofilm on harvested products and/or on packaging materials are suitable for the storage and transportation of vegetables and fruits. Nanomaterials also increase the vitality of the cut flower. Nanofertilizers are target-specific, slow releasing and highly efficient in increasing vegetative growth, pollination and fertility in flowers, resulting in increased yield and improved product quality for fruit trees and vegetables. Formulated nanopesticides are target-specific, eco-friendly and highly efficient. Nanosensors facilitate up-to-date monitoring of growth, plant disease, and pest attack in crop plants under field conditions. These novel sensors are used to precisely identify the soil moisture, humidity, population of crop pests, pesticide residues and figure out nutrient requirements. This review aimed to provide an update on the recent advancement of nanomaterials and their potential uses for enhancing productivity, quality of products, protection from pests and reduction of the postharvest losses of the horticultural crops. This study reveals that nanotechnology could be used to generate cutting-edge techniques towards promoting productivity and quality of horticultural crops to ensure food and nutritional security of ever-increasing population of the world.

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Performance of salt-tolerant Boro rice was investigated under the interaction effect of variety and different doses of potassium fertilizer, which is a part of the research for developing agriculture in coastal areas of Bangladesh. A field experiment was conducted at the research field of Agriculture department, Noakhali Science and Technology University (NSTU), Noakhali-3814. The experiment was carried out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications where two varieties viz. BINA dhan-8, BRRI dhan-28 and three doses of potassium viz. 120 kg/ha, 84 kg/ha and 36kg/ha were used as treatments. Plant height (cm), tillers/hill, grain/panicle, 1000 grain weight (g), grain yield (t/ha), straw yield (t/ha) and harvest index (%) were compared among varieties and treatments. Results revealed that only variety and only potassium fertilizer had non-significant influence but the interaction of variety and potassium fertilizer had a significant effect on the performance of salt-tolerant Boro rice. Therefore, the present study suggests that salt-tolerant BINA dhan-8 variety may be cultivated with 120 kg potassium/ha for obtaining higher yield in the southern coastal area of Bangladesh. Asian Australas. J. Biosci. Biotechnol. 2020, 5 (1), 21-26

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