Developing Green Nanotechnology Integrated Agricultural Techniques

Authors: Papina Gnaneswaran, Nirusha Thavarajah, Phanikiran Radhakrishnan

The demand for developing sustainable agricultural practices has been increasing over the past couple of decades due to the rapid growth in the world’s population. Developing sustainable farming practices depends on stewardship of natural resources; this includes maintaining or improving the quality of the farmlands. However, the knowledge and resources to implement sustainable agricultural practices are not yet met in many developing countries. Many farmers still use extensive agrochemicals to boost crop yields leading to adverse health and environmental implications; this calls for an urgent need to identify or develop innovative sustainable farming practices. This literature review provides a comprehensive summary of the current agricultural practices in Ghana and Sri Lanka, focusing on cashew and rice and will present the current knowledge available to develop suitable green-nanotechnology-based farming practices such as bio-pesticides. Biopesticides are a promising green chemistry alternative to agrochemicals, including biochemical pesticides, microbial pesticides, and plant-incorporated protectants.

References:

1. Ditta A. How helpful is nanotechnology in agriculture? Advances in Natural Sciences: Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. 2012; 3(3):033002.

2. Raliya R, Tarafdar JC, Gulecha K, et al. Review article; scope of nanoscience and nanotechnology in agriculture. Journal of Applied Biology and Biotechnology. 2013;1(03):041–044.