Nanotechnology has shown great potential in all spheres of life. With the increasing pressure to meet the food demands of rapidly increasing population, thus, novel innovation and research are required in agriculture. The principles of nanotechnology can be implemented to meet the challenges faced by agricultural demands. Major challenges include the loss of nutrients in the soil and nutrient-deficient plants, which result in a lower crop yield and quality. Subsequently, consumption of such crops leads to malnourishment in humans, especially in underprivileged and rural populations.
One convenient approach to tackle nutrient deficiency in plants is via the use of fertilizers; however, this method suffers from lower uptake efficiency in plants. Another approach to combat nutrient deficiency in humans is via the use of supplements and diet modifications; however, these approaches are less affordably viable in economically challenged communities and in rural areas. Therefore, the use of nano-fertilizers to combat this problem holds the greatest potential. Additionally, nanotechnology can be used to meet other challenges in agriculture including enhancing crop yield, protection from insect pests and animals, and by use of nano-pesticides and nano-biosensors to carry out the remediation of polluted soils.
The future use of nanomaterials in soil ecosystems will be influenced by their capability to interact with soil constituents and the route of nanoparticles into the environment includes both natural and anthropogenic sources. The last decade has provided increasing research on the impact and use of nanoparticles in plants, animals, microbes, and soils, and yet these studies often lacked data involving the impact of nanoparticles on biotic and abiotic stress factors. This book provides significant recent research on the use of nano-fertilizers, which can have a major impact on components of an ecosystem. This work should provide a basis to further study these potential key areas in order to achieve sustainable and safe application of nanoparticles in agriculture.
Dr. Vishnu D. Rajput is working as an Assoc. Prof. (Leading Researcher) at Sothern Federal University, Russia. His ongoing research is based on soil contaminations, i.e, potentially toxic elements, and metallic nanoparticles, and investigating the bioaccumulation, bio/geo-transformations, uptake, translocation, and toxic effects of metallic nanoparticles on plant physiology, morphology, anatomy, the ultrastructure of cellular and subcellular organelles, cytomorphometric modifications, and DNA damage. Dr. Rajput comprehensively detailed the state of research in plant science in regard to "how nanoparticles/heavy metals interact with plants, affect plant growth to the larger extent. He has published (total of 245 scientific publications) 147 peer-reviewed highly rated full-length articles, 10 books, 44 book chapters (Scopus indexed), and 29 conference articles till, December 2021. He is an internationally recognized reviewer for peer-reviewed internationally reputedjournals, reviewed 159 manuscripts. He received "certificate for appreciation 2019 and 2021", "Certificate of Honor 2020", Diploma Award 2021, by Southern Federal University, Russia, for outstanding contribution in academic, creative research, and publication activities.
Dr. Krishan K. Verma is the visiting Scientist at Sugarcane Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and Guangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanning, Guangxi, China. He has 10 years of research experience in the field of biotic and abiotic stresses, i.e., environmental toxicology, plant physiology, and metallic nanoparticles. His research focuses on environmental toxicology, plant physiology and molecular biology, and their impacts on the growth and physiological adaptations of plants to the environment and how they affect the plant structure. He has published more than 54 scientific research articles including 05 books. He has been serving as an editorial board member of various peer-reviewed journals.
Dr. Neetu Sharma is working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biotechnology, GGDSD College, Chandigarh, India for the last ten years. Dr. Sharma is actively involved in teaching courses of microbiology, environmental biotechnology for graduate and postgraduate students. Her current research emphasis is on the biological and chemical synthesis of nanoparticles, their doping for confronting the problems like water disinfection, and their potential antimicrobial properties to embark upon increasing resistance of microbes against available drugs. She has research experience spanning over a period of 15 years and has guided more than 50 dissertations of undergraduate and postgraduate students, and published a number of research and review articles in reputed national and international journals. She is also a life member of the Indian Association of Nuclear Chemists and Allied Scientists (IANCAS), BARC, Mumbai.
Prof. Dr. Tatiana Minkina is the Head of the Soil Science and Land Evaluation Department, Southern Federal University. Her area of scientific interest is soil science, biogeochemistry of trace elements, environmental soil chemistry, soil monitoring, assessment, modeling, and remediation using physicochemical treatment methods. Сurrently, she is handling several projects funded by the Russian Scientific Foundation, Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, and Russian Foundation of Basic Research. Total scientific publications: 957 (total 957, 389 in English); Scopus--289 and WoS--196. She was awarded in 2021 with the Diploma of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation for long-term work on the development and improvement of the educational process and significant contribution to the training of highly qualified specialists. She is a Member of the Expert Group of the Russian Academy of Science, the International Committee on Contamination Land, Eurasian Soil Science Societies, the International Committee on Protection of the Environment, and the International Scientific Committee of the International Conferences on Biogeochemistry of Trace Elements.
