Nanopesticides: Current status and scope for their application in agriculture

Abstract

Nanotechnology is a rapidly evolving field that has the potential to revolutionise food systems and counter the present-day challenge of food security. It envisages taking agriculture from the era of indiscriminate natural resource use and environmental degradation to the brave new world of advanced systems with enhanced material use efficiency and targeted applications to reduce crop losses caused due to abiotic-biotic stresses as well as to give due considerations to the environment. To manage plant diseases and insect pests, pesticides are inevitably used in agriculture. However, the higher dosage of these chemicals on a per hectare basis has resulted in many environmental and health hazards. To tackle the conventional pesticide related issues, a new field of science called nanotechnology has led to the development of nanopesticides that have less active ingredients, but better efficiency. The nanopesticides contain the carrier molecule or the active nanosized ingredient with a very high surface area to the volume property that provides them unique exploitable-advantages. Several formulations, viz., nanoemulsions, nanosuspensions, nanogels, metal compound-based nanopesticides, have been developed for different modes of action and vivid applications. The biggest advantage comes due to the small size of the particles that help in properly spreading the ingredients on the pest surface and, thus, producing a better action than conventional pesticides. The use of nanoparticles in the form of nanopesticides, nanofertilisers, and nano delivery systems is on the increase day by day due to their higher efficiency and reduced dosage requirements. However, human beings and other organisms are also getting exposed to the nano-entities during the application or afterwards. The interactions of these engineered nano-entities with biological systems are relatively unknown thus far. Therefore, before their wider usage in crop production and protection, a better understanding of their interactions, and adverse effects, if any, is also crucial for a sustainable transition.

Nanomaterials for Postharvest Management of Insect Pests: Current State and Future Perspectives

“…Pioneering nanotechnology has opened a new way for the development of nano-sized formulations that are highly effective for pest control with lesser residual toxicity and are environment-friendly (Yadav et al, 2021). These are chemically alterable particles consisting of a large surface-to-volume ratio, and their physical properties make them capable enough to target organisms (Madhuri et al, 2010;Mustafa & Hussein, 2020;Sahoo et al, 2021).…”

“…The nanoscale application of agrochemicals in agriculture in the form of nanofertilizers, nanopesticides, nanosensors, and nanoformulations has changed the traditional agro-practices (Aouada and De Moura, 2015;Panpatte et al, 2016;Scott et al, 2018;Pirzadah et al, 2019;Singh R. P et al, 2021). In crop protection, different types of nanoformulations, such as nanoemulsion, nanosuspension, and nanoparticulate, are suggested to tackle the insect pests of field and storage (Islam, 2020;Kashyap et al, 2020;Yadav et al, 2021)). The amalgamation of botanicals with nanopesticides is one of the most powerful tools that provide eco-friendly control routes for insect pest control.…”

“…The nanoscale size generally has an upper limit of about 100 nm. Based on the particle size, nanoparticles were classified into three categories: 1) ultrafine particles having a size less than 100 nm in diameter, 2) accumulation-mode particles having a size between 100 nm and 2.5 µm in diameter, and 3) coarse-mode particles having size greater than 2.5 µm in diameter (Sioutas et al, 2005;Kah et al, 2013;Kashyap et al, 2017;Kashyap et al, 2018;Yadav et al, 2021)). A nanosystem unit consists of two basic components: an active ingredient and a carrier.…”

Stability Phenomena Associated with the Development of Polymer-Based Nanopesticides

“…Polymers can be classified based on their nature in natural or synthetic [ 16 ]. Natural polymers such as chitosan, sodium alginate, albumin, and starch or synthetic polymers like poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA), PCL, and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) have been employed in the NP development [ 13 , 17 ] ( Figure 1 ). Different natural and synthetic polymer-based NPs are shown in Table 1 [ 18 ].…”

“…Polymeric nanocapsules are structures composed of a hydrophilic or hydrophobic internal cavity surrounded by a polymer coating [ 17 , 48 ]. The active substances are generally dissolved in the internal liquid core and encapsulated by polymers spontaneously during the formation of nanocapsules [ 49 ].…”