Abstract
Rising population, climate change, pests and pathogens, environmental contamination, and rising demands for water and energy are all putting significant strains on the world's agricultural systems. Nanotechnology (NT) has a critical role in delivering advanced biotechnological solutions for many of the challenges facing agriculture today. Eco-friendly nanoparticle-based carrier systems can deliver bioengineered sustainable agrochemicals to improve crop productivity and reduce environmental degradation. Nanomaterials have unique properties such as extremely small sizes and large surface areas and can be used as controlled release carriers for the delivery of inorganic, organic, and genetic materials for many agricultural applications. Several studies have already reported the positive effect of nano-fertilizers and nano-pesticides on crop production. Nanomaterial-based carrier systems can also be used to deliver genes directly into plant cells and enhance genome editing efficiency. This chapter summarizes the current efforts being made to develop nanomaterial-based carrier systems for the delivery of the next generation of agrochemicals and genetic materials. Pathogen control through nano-pesticides and nutrient delivery through nano-fertilizers are discussed for five major global crops, namely rice, wheat, maize, potato, and chickpea. The chapter also discusses nanomaterial-based technologies that can be used to overcome barriers associated with gene therapy and genome editing. It is believed that advances in this field will greatly assist in improving crop quality and productivity, thereby providing environmentally friendly and sustainable food security to the ever-increasing global population. Moreover, given the fast evolution of nanotechnologies in the device sphere, this chapter also discusses the potential for fabrication, control, manipulation, and engineering of DNA bases at the molecular level with atomic force microscopy AFM-based scanning probes like Dip-Pen lithography.