Nanomaterials and Nano-Biochar for Sustainable Agriculture and Environmental Remediation

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Ecology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 September 2023) | Viewed by 7396

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Soil degradation, pollution and loss of soil productivity are global issues, representing major threats for sustainable crop production. A large number of technological inventions have been applied to clean up soil, restore fertlity and enace crop productivity; however, due to expensive, unfeasible in realistic environments or in larger applications, and labour-consuming aspects, past approches have failed to improve soil health and crop production up to desired limits, an issue that remains unsolved. Recently, nanotechnological approaches and nano-sized biochar/biochar have exploded in popularity as a result of their large number of unique properties. The input of nanomaterails and nanosized biochar in enhancing crop yield has improved soil quality parameters without disturbing the environment. The input of these materails in soils could enhance the functionality of soil microbes to improve nutrient use efficiency or help to make nutrients available to plants and improve root systems and the overall growth of crops. Thus, our guest editors are inviting quality research and comprehesive reviews or perspective papers on exploring insights into the realistic application of nanomaterials and nano-sized biochar/biochar in soil health improvements and sustainable crop production. Manuscripts submitted to this Special Issue will be subjected to a rigorous blind peer-review process.

Dr. Vishnu D. Rajput
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • nanotechnology
  • corbon
  • wastes
  • biochar
  • food security
  • microbes
  • salinity
  • sustainable agriculture

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 7643 KiB  
Article
CuO Nanoparticle-Mediated Seed Priming Improves Physio-Biochemical and Enzymatic Activities of Brassica juncea
by Ahmad Faraz, Mohammad Faizan, Vishnu D. Rajput, Tatiana Minkina, Shamsul Hayat, Mohammad Faisal, Abdulrahman A. Alatar and Eslam M. Abdel-Salam
Plants 2023, 12(4), 803; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12040803 - 10 Feb 2023
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1556
Abstract
The use of nanoparticles (NPs) in agricultural fields has risen to a level where people are considering NPs as an alternative to commercial fertilizers. The input of copper oxide NPs (CuO NPs) as seed primers was investigated in this study, and the growth [...] Read more.
The use of nanoparticles (NPs) in agricultural fields has risen to a level where people are considering NPs as an alternative to commercial fertilizers. The input of copper oxide NPs (CuO NPs) as seed primers was investigated in this study, and the growth indices of Brassica juncea such as phenotypic parameters, photosynthetic attributes, and biochemical parameters were measured during maximum vegetative growth stage, i.e., at 45 days after sowing. Surface sterilized seeds were soaked in varying concentrations (0, 2, 4, 8 and 16 mg/L) of CuO NPs for 15, 30, and/or 45 min. After those priming periods, the seeds were planted in pots and allowed to grow naturally. Among the different tested concentrations of CuO NPs, 4 mg/L of CuO NPs for 30 min seed priming proved to be best, and considerably increased the, shoot length (30%), root length (27%), net photosynthetic rate (30%), internal CO2 concentration (28%), and proline content (41%). Besides, the performance of the antioxidant enzymes, viz, superoxide dismutase, catalase, peroxidase, and biochemical parameters such as nitrate reductase and carbonic anhydrase were also increased by several folds after the application of CuO NPs in B. juncea. The present study suggests that CuO NPs can be effectively used to increase the performance of B. juncea and may also be suitable for testing on other crop species. Full article
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23 pages, 4040 KiB  
Article
Biological Nanofertilizers to Enhance Growth Potential of Strawberry Seedlings by Boosting Photosynthetic Pigments, Plant Enzymatic Antioxidants, and Nutritional Status
by Said M. El-Bialy, Mohammed E. El-Mahrouk, Taha Elesawy, Alaa El-Dein Omara, Fathy Elbehiry, Hassan El-Ramady, Béni Áron, József Prokisch, Eric C. Brevik and Svein Ø. Solberg
Plants 2023, 12(2), 302; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12020302 - 09 Jan 2023
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2661
Abstract
Strawberry production presents special challenges due the plants’ shallow roots. The rooting stage of strawberry is a crucial period in the production of this important crop. Several amendments have been applied to support the growth and production of strawberry, particularly fertilizers, to overcome [...] Read more.
Strawberry production presents special challenges due the plants’ shallow roots. The rooting stage of strawberry is a crucial period in the production of this important crop. Several amendments have been applied to support the growth and production of strawberry, particularly fertilizers, to overcome rooting problems. Therefore, the current investigation was carried out to evaluate the application of biological nanofertilizers in promoting strawberry rooting. The treatments included applying two different nanofertilizers produced biologically, nano-selenium (i.e., 25, 50, 75, and 100 mg L−1) and nano-copper (i.e., 50 and 100 mg L−1), plus a control (untreated seedlings). The rooting of strawberry seedlings was investigated by measuring the vegetative growth parameters (root weight, seedling weight, seedling length, and number of leaves), plant enzymatic antioxidants (catalase, peroxidase, and polyphenol oxidase activity), and chlorophyll content and its fluorescence and by evaluating the nutritional status (content of nutrients in the fruit and their uptake). The results showed that the applied nanofertilizers improved the growth, photosynthetic pigments, antioxidant content, and nutritional status of the seedlings compared to the control. A high significant increase in nutrient contents reached to more than 14-fold, 6-fold, 5-folf, and 4-fold for Cu, Mn, N, and Se contents, respectively, due to the applied nanofertilizers compared with the control. The result was related to the biological roles of both Se and CuO in activating the many plant enzymes. Comparing the Se with the CuO nanofertilizer, Cu had the strongest effect, which was shown in the higher values in all studied properties. This study showed that nanofertilizers are useful to stimulate strawberry seedling growth and most likely would also be beneficial for other horticultural crops. In general, the applied 100 ppm of biological nano-Se or nano-CuO might achieve the best growth of strawberry seedlings under growth conditions in greenhouses compared to the control. Along with the economic dimension, the ecological dimension of biological nanofertilizers still needs more investigation. Full article
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Review

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17 pages, 2431 KiB  
Review
Nanoparticles-Based Delivery Systems for Salicylic Acid as Plant Growth Stimulator and Stress Alleviation
by Vladimir Polyakov, Tatiana Bauer, Vera Butova, Tatiana Minkina and Vishnu D. Rajput
Plants 2023, 12(8), 1637; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12081637 - 13 Apr 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2088
Abstract
The population growth tendency leads to an increase in demand for food products, and in particular, products obtained from the processing of plants. However, there are issues of biotic and abiotic stresses that can significantly reduce crop yields and escalate the food crisis. [...] Read more.
The population growth tendency leads to an increase in demand for food products, and in particular, products obtained from the processing of plants. However, there are issues of biotic and abiotic stresses that can significantly reduce crop yields and escalate the food crisis. Therefore, in recent years, the development of new methods of plant protection became an important task. One of the most promising ways to protect plants is to treat them with various phytohormones. Salicylic acid (SA) is one of the regulators of systemic acquired resistance (SAR) signaling pathways. These mechanisms are able to protect plants from biotic and abiotic stresses by increasing the expression of genes that encode antioxidant enzymes. However, salicylic acid in high doses can act as an antagonist and have the negative rebound effect of inhibition of plant growth and development. To maintain optimal SA concentrations in the long term, it is necessary to develop systems for the delivery and slow release of SA in plants. The purpose of this review is to summarize and study methods of delivery and controlled release of SA in a plant. Various carriers-based nanoparticles (NPs) synthesized from both organic and inorganic compounds, their chemical structure, impacts on plants, advantages, and disadvantages are comprehensively discussed. The mechanisms of controlled release of SA and the effects of the use of the considered composites on the growth and development of plants are also described. The present review will be helpful to design or fabricate NPs and NPs-based delivery systems for salicylic acid-controlled release and better understating of the mechanism of SA-NPs interaction to alleviate stress on plants. Full article
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