Nanotechnology Strategies Towards a Sustainable Agriculture

The use of nanotechnology in agriculture is a promising tool to address agricultural challenges. Conventional agricultural practices include extensive loads of agrichemicals such as pesticides and fertilizers to cope with the high incidence of disease and nutrient-deficient soils among other food crops’ stressors. Engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) have shown a better performance over common/bulk sized materials contained in agrichemicals. Providing plants with ENMs have significantly increased yields and improved plant health in studies conducted at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES). Due to their small size and higher reactivity, ENMs can be a readily available source of nutrients or can be carriers of active ingredients that trigger a response in plants, for example to inhibit viral replication. This presentation will provide examples of current research where ENMs are being studied in agriculture to fight pathogens such as viruses and fungi.