Nanotechnology has the potential to help address challenges facing global food production. As the world's population grows and urbanizes, the demand for food will increase substantially. However, factors like climate change, limited resources, and environmental degradation threaten food security. Nanoparticles can be used to create "smart" nanofertilizers that increase nutrient uptake and use efficiency. They allow slow, targeted, and controlled release of nutrients to plants. Some studies show nanofertilizers improve crop yields by over 30% compared to conventional fertilizers. Nanotechnology can also enhance seed germination and plant growth, helping to meet rising demands while reducing environmental impacts. However, more research is still needed to address costs and ensure nanoparticle safety.

1. Improving Production
of
Food Crops
By:
Name: Priyanka Kumari
Course : Nanochemistry

2. What is the need for it?
Why should I worry ?
We have plenty of food !
SAM

3. NEED
● World’s population 7.7 Billion ● Growth rate of population in urban
areas was 34.47% in 2019.
Population Growth Urbanization
(2019)
● Population 1.1% annual change
growth rate (2019)

4. POPULATION GROWTH : 1 C.E. PRESENT 2050 = 1 million

5. World human population estimates from 1700 to 2100, with estimated range of future population after 2021 based on "high" and "low"
scenarios. Data from the United Nations projections in 2019.

6. URBANIZATION
● The growth rate of population in urban areas was 34.47% in
2019.
● One of the major negative effects of urbanization for
developing countries is the loss of cultivated land.
● The expansion of small towns and rural villages lacks
sufficient focus and covers a large area of cultivated land.
● The main causes of urbanisation in India are:
○ The Industrial Revolution
○ Growth in the private sector after 1990
○ Giving children a better future by educating them in a
great educational institute is now an alarming reason
for urbanization.
India: Degree of urbanization from
2009 to 2019

7. Bangalore is the worst city in the world
for unchecked urbanisation.
~ Professor TV Ramachandra, Indian Institute of Science
● The water table has declined in places from 28 metres down to 300 metres deep.
● There has been an 88% loss of vegetation and a 79% loss in wetlands, and frequent flooding even
during normal rainfall.
Environmental effects of breakneck urban growth in Bangalore
● This city was renowned for its trees, lakes and pleasant air, but
now it is a dead city, which has sacrificed its environment for
fastest economic growth.
● The temperature has increased by 2°- 2.5°C over the past three
decades.
Bangalore, India
Population in 2020: 12,327,000
3.74% increase from 2019

8. LAND USE DYNAMICS IN BANGALORE

9. CHALLENGES DEEP-DIVE
Climate Change
Limited Natural
Resources
Environmental
Issues

10. PROBLEM STATEMENT
The field of agriculture has been facing a wide range of challenges :
● Unpredictable climate change
● Contamination of soil with various harmful environmental pollutants such as
fertilizers and pesticides
● Elevating food demands with a growing global population.
“Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) states that if
the world population reaches 9.1 billion by 2050, then food production needs to
augment by 70% universally and to double in the developing countries.
But the problem is….

11. Solution
Nanotechnology Has Potential
To Provide Effective Solutions
To Multiple Agriculture Related
Problems.
“NANOTECHNOLOGY”
Solution

12. Introduction to the term
“NANOTECHNOLOGY”
● Norio Taniguchi coined the term “Nanotechnology” in 1974.
● The term “nano” is a Greek word meaning “dwarf”.
● it means one-billionth of a meter or 10−9
“Nano-technology” mainly consists of the
processing of separation, consolidation and
deformation of materials by one atom or
one molecule.

13. Improving production of food crops
Quantitative
Improvement
Qualitative
Improvement
Nanotechnology

14. FERTILIZER
ii Depression in crop begun
i Decreases soil organic matter
3 Imbalance fertilization
1 Enhancing food production
Improving the quality
2

15. NANOFERTILIZER
An efficient source of
balanced crop
nutrition.
A fertilizer made of nano-sized
molecules coated in a polymer
coating with biosensors, which
releases the particles in soil when
needed.
Increases uptake
from soil in crop
production
Increases
efficiency of
fertilizer
Extend the duration
of nutrient supply
of fertilizer
Reduces loss
rate of fertilizer
nutrients into soil
by leaking
● Nanofertilizers are nanomaterials which are either nutrients themselves (micro- or macro-
nutrients) or are acting as carriers/additives (e.g. by compositing with minerals) for the nutrients.

16. EFFECT OF NANOTECHNOLOGY IN FERTILIZER
01
02
03
04
Encapsulation of fertilizer
in nanoparticles
Nano sized nutrients
Slow delivery
Targeted delivery
NANO
FERTILIZER

17. ENCAPSULATION OF FERTILIZER IN NANOPARTICLES
3. Deliver particles in
nanoscale dimension
2. Coated with thin
polymer film
1. Nutrients
encapsulated in
nano-porous
materials
● Protection
● Decreases solubility
● Reduces run - off rates
● Reduce the contact of active ingredients with agricultural workers

18. NANOSIZED NUTRIENTS
1
Dispersion of insoluble
nutrients in soil
2 Improve solubility
3 Increased nutrient efficiency
● Nutrient carriers : Nanoclays, Hydroxyapatite nanoparticles, Carbon-based nanomaterials, Mesoporous silica etc.
Environmental
quality
Improve water
holding capacity
Improve soil
quality
Increase microbial
activity
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● Nutrient use efficiency (NUE) depends on the plant’s
ability to take up nutrients efficiently from the soil.
● Nanofertilizers have higher NUE as plants cell walls
have small pore sizes (up to 20 nm) which result in
higher nutrient uptake.

19. TARGETED DELIVERY
These “nano-fertilizers” have high
surface area, sorption capacity and
controlled-release kinetics to
targeted sites attributing them as
“SMART DELIVERY SYSTEM”.
Nanoparticle Drug
Targeting Molecule
Targeted Delivery

20. SLOW DELIVERY
2 Nutrient rich fruits
3 Negligible land contamination
1
Slow and sustainable nutrient
release
● Laboratory data for the release of urea from the nanohybrids with a 1:6 HA to urea ratio released urea
12 times more slowly compared to pure urea.
HNF : hybrid nano-fertilizer
4
Low cost due to “Less is more”
approach

21. Growth of Soybean Plants in the 15th Week After Germination Under Different Treatments
Figure: From left to right: treated with fertilizer and nano-sized
hydroxyapatite (nHA), treated with fertilizer and regular P,
treated with fertilizer without P and treated with tap water only.
Crop: Soybean
● The 20-week-long greenhouse test in an
inert growing medium showed that
application of nHA as a P source promoted
more soybean growth at a rate of 11.4 cm
week−1
, 32.6% higher than that (8.6 cm
week−1) of soybeans growing under
regular P fertilizer treatment.
● nHA gave higher biomass production (a
18.2% increase in above-ground biomass
and a 41.2% in below-ground biomass) and
the yield (a 20.4% increase) in compared
with those under regular P treatment.
Liu and Lal, 2014

22. 4 Higher yield
3
Improvement in soil
aggregation
2 Increase productivity
Nano coating - reduce cost
1
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
High cost of nano fertilizers
1
2
Nanoparticles are toxic
when enter human body

23. Nanomaterials in Seed Germination, Crop Growth and Quality Enrichment
● Maize plants show better response toward
the application of silica NPs (SiO2
NPs).
○ Silica uptake was enhanced
○ roots were elongated
○ helps to withstand drought conditions.
Increase plant biomass
Enhances seed germination
Enhances root and shoot growth
NANOPARTICLES
● Au NPs
● Ag NPs
● Nano fertilizers improve crop productivity by
enhancing the rate of seed germination,
seedling growth and photosynthetic activity.
● The application of MWCNTs affects the
growth of some important crops, such as
barley, soybeans, and corn.
● CuO NPs
● ZnO NPs
● SiO2
NPs
● CNTs

24. Carbon Nanotubes Increases the Germination Through Better Penetration of Moisture
Khodakovskaya 2009
● Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) can penetrate thick seed coat and support water uptake inside
seeds.
● Plants exposed to carbon nanotubes showed faster germination rates and higher biomass
production.
Crop: Tomato

25. Nanomaterials in Pesticide-Based Plant Protection
● Nanopesticides “involve either very small particles of a pesticide active ingredient or other
small engineered structures with useful pesticidal properties”.
● Nanopesticides have potential to reduce the environmental footprint of conventional
pesticides.

26. Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)
● “Genetically Modified Organism” means any
living organism that possesses a novel
combination of genetic material obtained
through the use of modern biotechnology.
● To transfer genes into a crop plant to generate
a GMO, (a transgenic plant) generally requires
a two-step process:
○ Successful delivery of the gene into
a plant cell(s), called transformation
○ The regeneration of a transgenic
plant, primarily in tissue culture,
from the transformed cell(s).

27. TRITICALE = WHEAT X RYE
Wheat
(Triticum)
Rye
(Secale)
Triticale
● Triticale is the first man made crop.
● Triticale is a crop species resulting from a plant breeder's
interspecies cross between wheat (Triticum) and rye
(Secale).
● Plant breeders originally wanted to include the combination
of grain quality, productivity and disease resistance of wheat
with the vigor and hardiness of rye.
● It is used for both human food and livestock feed.
● The nutritional quality of triticale is superior to both wheat
and rye, making it an excellent cereal grain.
● Triticale also has secondary advantages, such as its high
production of straw, which is of direct interest to livestock
farmers. For a yield equivalent to wheat or barley, it produces
a 30% larger volume of straw.

28. ● β-carotene is a precursor of vitamin A, an essential
component of rhodopsin the fundamental light
absorbing pigment in the human eye.
● A chronic deficiency of vitamin A in the diet leads to
blindness and a compromised immune system.
● Golden Rice (yellow color) was envisioned to deliver a
cheap and effective (easy to distribute and deliver)
dietary source of vitamin A for areas of the world
where rice is the staple.
GOLDEN RICE

29. NANOPARTICLES
● Enhanced plant
biomass production
● Enhanced plant
resistance
● Increase soil
nutritional status
● Enhanced soil
microbial community
● Increased the size and
number of root pores
which enhanced the
water intake
Promote seed germination
Enhanced photosynthesis
Change in gene expression
and protein abundance
Enhanced the expression of stress
responsive genes and upregulate
the expression of miRNA genes
Positive effects of nanoparticles on plant growth and development

30. How do Nanoparticles Affect Plant Function?
● Nanotechnology has a role in solving different environmental and health issues which occurs with
the excessive usage of chemical fertilizers in agricultural practices.
● Many nanoparticles, including carbon nanotubes, silver, titanium oxide, gold, sulfur, zinc, iron,
silica, apatite, copper, chitosan- NKP- nanoparticles and carbon nanotube coated NKP+ chitosan
NPK- nanoparticles show improved plant growth and an increase in crop production when used in
the proper concentrations.

31. Positive Effects of Nanoparticles on Plants
● Seed germination: High germination rates are seen in seeds of aged spinach soaked in a high
concentration of TiO2 nanoparticle solution. This treatment promotes the growth of spinach and
accelerates nitrogen assimilation. The reaction mechanism involves excitation in the oxygen
evolution rate in spinach chloroplasts, which improves chloroplast coupling and enhances the
activities of Mg2+-ATPase and chloroplast coupling factor on the thylakoid membranes. This
nanoparticle also protects chloroplasts from aging for an extended period of light.
● Rate of photosynthesis: Significant higher activity of Rubisco – an enzyme involved in carbon
fixation - is seen in spinach plants treated with nano-anatase. An increase in the rate of electron
transfer, oxygen evolution, and photophosphorylation is also reported. Elevation in the protein levels
and activity of Rubisco leads to the improvement of Rubisco carboxylation and the rate of
photosynthetic carbon reaction rate increases.

32. Positive Effects of Nanoparticles on Plants
● Plant biomass and root elongation: An increase of root length, number of fronds, and overall
biomass of Lemna minor (duckweed) are seen on the application of alumina nanoparticles. This
development of biomass was due to increased efficiencies in photosynthesis. Alumina nanoparticles
increase the quantum yield of photosystem II. Similarly, in radish a significant enhancement in root
length is seen on the application of aluminum nanoparticles.
● Increase in production: Application of nano-iron oxide particles results in the highest grain yield,
showing a 48% increase in comparison with control. This could be because nano-iron oxide can
facilitate the photosynthate and iron transferring to the leaves.
● Phyto-stimulatory effect of nanoparticles on flowering: Nanoparticles possess unique biological
properties that may act as a plant growth stimulator. Soaking the bulbs in a silver nanoparticle
solution is an effective strategy to promote plant growth and flowering. Plants treated with silver
nanoparticles showed a higher number of flowers and flowered for longer.

33. Negative Effects of Nanoparticles on Plants
● Plant growth inhibition: The study of cytotoxic and genotoxic impacts of silver nanoparticles (below
100 nm size) using root tip cells of Allium cepa shows that higher concentration of the nanoparticles
decreases the mitotic index. The silver nanoparticles disrupt stages of cell division, causing
disturbed metaphase, chromatin bridge, multiple chromosomal breaks, and cell disintegration.
Copper oxide nanoparticles induce DNA damage in agricultural and grassland plants.
● Inhibition of seed germination: Significant inhibition of seed germination is induced by the smaller,
monodisperse nano-zinc oxide particles.
● Reduced pigment production in plant: Copper oxide nanoparticles decreases chlorophyll
concentration in plants.

34. ● Photosynthesis: In Elodea densa (Planch) plants, lipid peroxidation was enhanced on the application
of copper ions and copper nanoparticles. At a higher concentration, an accumulation of
nanoparticles by the plants causes an increase in catalase and superoxide dismutase activities and
a decrease in photosynthesis.
● Disruption in root system: The phytotoxicity study of cobalt and zinc oxide nanoparticles on the
roots of Allium cepa (onion bulbs) show that increasing concentrations of the nanoparticles inhibit
the elongation of the roots with respect to control plants. The phytotoxicity of cobalt oxide
nanoparticles could be because such nanoparticles could block the water channels through
adsorption, while the zinc oxide nanoparticles possibly infiltrate radically into onion roots and spoil
the whole cellular metabolism and stages of cell division.
Negative Effects of Nanoparticles on Plants

35. In A Nutshell

36. References
[1] Molecules 2019, 24, 2558; doi:10.3390/molecules24142558 www.mdpi.com/journal/molecules
[2] Nanotechnology in the Life Sciences ISBN 978-3-030-39977-1 ISBN 978-3-030-39978-8 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-39978-8
[3] WORLD POPULATION https://youtu.be/khFjdmp9sZk
[4] Future population growth rate - our world in data ( ourworldindata.org )
https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/UN-population-projection-medium-variant?tab=chart&country=~IND
[5] The 100 million cities: Is 21st century urbanization is out of control?
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/mar/19/urban-explosion-kinshasa-el-alto-growth-mexico-city-bangalore-lagos
[6]Slow Release Nanofertilizers for Bumper Crops - American …
[7] Formulation of a Hybrid Nano fertilizer for Slow ... - ACS Publications
[8] Liu, R., Lal, R. Synthetic apatite nanoparticles as a phosphorus fertilizer for soybean (Glycine max). Sci Rep 4, 5686 (2014).
https://doi.org/10.1038/srep05686
[9] Oliver M. J. (2014). Why we need GMO crops in agriculture. Missouri medicine, 111(6), 492–507
[10] Khodakovskaya, M., Dervishi, E., Mahmood, M., Xu, Y., Li, Z., Watanabe, F., & Biris, A. S. (2009). Carbon Nanotubes Are Able To
Penetrate Plant Seed Coat and Dramatically Affect Seed Germination and Plant Growth. ACS Nano, 3(10), 3221–3227.
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