eChapters

Modern agriculture faces unprecedented challenges due to climate change, unsustainable farming practices, and declining soil health. In response, nanoparticle-bioinoculants (nano-bioinoculants) have emerged as a promising innovation that integrates nanotechnology with microbial inoculants to enhance plant productivity and sustainability. Conventional agriculture contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions, degrades microbial diversity, and compromises ecological balance. Beneficial microbes, known as bioinoculants, play a vital role in improving plant health through nutrient cycling, hormone production, and disease suppression. However, their field performance is often limited by environmental instability and low survival rates. Nanotechnology provides a solution by enabling the encapsulation of bioinoculants within nanoparticles, enhancing their stability, targeted delivery, and effectiveness. These nano-scale carriers exhibit high surface-area-to-volume ratios, improved reactivity, and strong adhesion properties, making them ideal for enhancing microbial colonization and activity in the rhizosphere. Additionally, nanoparticles function as nano-fertilizers and nano-pesticides, supporting both plant nutrition and protection against pathogens. Plant-based nanoparticle synthesis further offers an eco-friendly alternative, minimizing ecological and health risks. Studies demonstrated that nano-bioinoculants improve seed germination, stress resilience, photosynthetic activity, and crop yield across various species. They also mitigate abiotic stresses such as drought, salinity, and heavy metal toxicity while promoting systemic resistance against biotic threats. The synergistic combination of nanoparticles and microbial agents enables multifunctional benefits—supporting soil health, reducing chemical dependency, and enhancing agricultural resilience. While challenges remain in understanding

Global agricultural sector moves toward sustainability and resource efficiency, bioinoculants represent a transformative innovation. Bioinoculants (microbial inoculants) are preparations containing beneficial microorganisms such as bacteria, actinomycetes, fungi, and cyanobacteria that, when applied to seeds, seedlings, or plants, and soil, enhance nutrient availability, promote plant growth, and improve soil fertility. In the context of modern agriculture’s ecological challenges, such as soil degradation, overuse of agrochemicals, and climate variability, microbial inoculants offer a sustainable, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly alternative. However, their effectiveness is often limited by environmental stresses, short shelf life, and inconsistent field performance. Nano-bioinoculants address these limitations through the integration of nanotechnology into microbial formulations. This innovative approach improves microbial viability under field conditions, increases interaction efficiency with plant roots, and enables controlled nutrient release, leading to improved crop performance. Plant growth, soil fertility, and stress resistance are strengthened by inoculation using nanoparticles, nano-based biofertilizers, and biopesticides. Their application is particularly relevant in India, where diverse agro-climatic zones and smallholder farming systems demand low-input, high-efficiency solutions. In India, where the demand for eco-friendly and high-efficiency agri-inputs is

Biopesticides are pesticides that are produced naturally by plants, animals, microbes, and other minerals. These represent less of a harm to humans and the environment than chemical insecticides. Nanotechnology is a rapidly developing scientific topic that has numerous uses in numerous industries, including agriculture. The transport of plant hormones, seed germination, water management, transfer of target genes, nano barcoding, nano sensors, and controlled release of agrichemicals are now being investigated as applications for nanotechnology in agriculture (Worrall et al. 2018).

1. Introduction
It is the need of the hour that disposal of radioactive wastes be taken seriouslyand given appropriate attention. We house around one million gallons of liquidradioactive waste awaiting remediation at U.S. Department of Energy’s HanfordReservation alone (Parshley & McDermott, 2021). Not only the numbers are
but the increasing demand of nuclear energy paves the way forgeneration of even more radioactive waste in future. The conventional methodshave certain limitations. Ion-exchange resins have reported to bedegradedunder high radiation and chemical precipitation has proven to be ineffectivein treating low concentration of radionuclides found in groundwater, posingrisk for centuries (Zhang & Liu, 2020). Remediation methods including soil

Introduction

Since past decades, the application of nanotechnology in the areas of medicine, materials science and electronics have been widely accepted and appreciated due to its potential and benefits.  However, only during the recent years, researchers from other disciplines have started to see the potential applications of nanoscience in the field of agriculture (Robinson and Morrison, 2009). Recently, a generalized and process based framework to enable identification and characterization of the outputs (publications, patents etc.), and map them to the different agricultural research theme areas through the filter of links in the agri-value chain were developed by Kalpana Shastri et al., (2010) from National Academy of Agricultural Research Management (NAARM), Hyderabad, India. The frame work also permits assessing the implications for technology transfer, and impacts on society and environment. This frame work mainly relies on the identification of nano research and relating them agri-food thematic areas (Fig.1).

Introduction

The Indian poultry industry has emerged as one of the fastest growing segments in the Agriculture Sector, contributing significantly to the national GDP. The 20^th Livestock Census in 2019 estimated the total poultry population in the country at 851.81 million with an increment of about 16.8 % over the last one in 2012. The Indian poultry industry is annually growing at around 6.0% for the past four decades and is expected to touch 1066.2 million by 2030. The Per capita availability of meat and eggs is expected to increase accordingly so as to meet requirement projections made by the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), by the year 2031. 

Introduction

By enhancing microbial populations, enzyme activity, soil respiration, and microbial biomass, nano-black carbon is a novel method for the enhancement of soil biological characteristics. By reducing soil acidity and boosting soil fertility, nano-black carbon is believed to improve plant development. The application of nano-black carbon to agricultural soils can have a significant positive impact on plant productivity. In addition to potentially boosting soil resilience to climate change, nano-black carbon greatly boosted enzyme activity, microbial activity, and soil organic carbon retention.Due to a liming action, nano-black carbon has been proposed as a potential biotechnology to boost agricultural yields in acidic soils.

Introduction

Fertilizers play an important role in improving soil fertility and productivity of crops regardless of nature of cropping sequence or environmental conditions. It has been unequivocally demonstrated that one third of crop productivity is dictated by fertilizers besides influencing use efficiencies of other agri-inputs. In the past four decades, nutrient use efficiency (NUE) of crops had hardly exceeded 35-50%, 18-20% and 30-35 % for N, P and K, respectively, despite our relentless efforts. The remaining nutrients stay in soil or enter into the aquatic environment causing eutrophication. In addition to the low nutrient efficiencies, Indian agriculture facing a problem of low organic matter, imbalanced fertilization and low fertilizer response that eventually caused crop yield stagnation (Biswas and sharma, 2008).

20.1 Introduction
  
Fertilizers play an important role in improving soil fertility and productivity of crops regardless of nature of cropping sequence or environmental conditions. It has been unequivocally demonstrated that one third of crop productivity is dictated by fertilizers besides influencing use efficiencies of other agri-inputs. In the past four decades, nutrient use efficiency (NUE) of crops had hardly exceeded 35-50%, 18-20% and 30-35 % for N, P and K, respectively, despite our relentless efforts. The remaining nutrients stay in soil or enter into the aquatic environment causing eutrophication. In addition to the low nutrient efficiencies, Indian agriculture is facing a problem of low organic matter, imbalanced fertilization and low fertilizer response that eventually caused crop yield stagnation (Biswas and sharma, 2008).The fertilizer response ratio in the irrigated areas of the country  has dcreased from 13.4 kg grain / kg nutrient applied in 1970’s to just 3.7 kg in 2005. In other words, more amounts of fertilizers is required to produce the same quantity of grain output. For instance, 27 kg NPK ha-1 was required to produce one tonne of grain in 1970 while the same level of production can be achieved by 109 kg NPK ha-1 in 2008. 

Nanofibres are an exciting new class of material used for several value added applications in the field of such as medical, filtration as barrier in composites, garments, wipes, insulation, and energy storage. Special properties of nanofibres make them suitable for a wide range of applications from medicine to consumer products and industrial to high-tech applications. The US - National Science Foundation (NSF) defines nanofibres as having at least one dimension of 100 nm or less (Hegde, 2005). Amongst the various nanostructures that have recently been developed for use in practical applications, nanofibres produced from synthetic and natural polymershave received increased attention due to their ease of fabrication and the ability to control their compositional, structural and functional properties (Burgeretal.,2006).

7.1 Introduction

Organic polymers can play important role in ecosystems by accumulating biologically important elements and also by retaining soil moisture after aggregating soil particles. Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) play an important role in cell aggregation, cell adhesion, and biofilm formation that subsequently protect cells from a hostile environment. Furthermore, certain polysaccharides from microbial sources are surface active, and thus attempts have been made to use them as metal chelaters, emulsifiers and flocculants in industrial and environmental fields/domain. Such use of microbial polysaccharides has infused renewed interest in its production and characteristics.

Nanotechnology offers unique opportunities for the development of novel materials and applications. It is set to offer a platform to revolutionize agriculture sector from production, protection, processing and storage (Kuzma and Verhage, 2006). Bulk of nanomaterials produced is used in other sectors; only ten per cent is of use in food, beverages and packaging sector. Studies have projected the opportunities that nanotechnologies might bring to developing countries in the fields of water, energy, food and agriculture and health (Salamanca- Buentello et al., 2005) The key contributions due to application of nanotechnology in agriculture are delivery systems that aid in slow release and efficient delivery of agroinputs.

Plant disease management technique applicable these days are predominantly relies on hazardous synthetic chemicals that are efficiently deleterious to the human and environment as well. Crop loss every year due to plant pathogen and pest is ranging 30–50%. Nanotechnology, proven advantageous and can offer positive environmental impacts over these harmful chemical pesticides by reducing toxicity, increasing the feasibility of pesticides which are normally baffling in water and improving longevity. Now a days and in coming year, it becoming one of the rapidly growing, advancing and most fascinating technological sciences in many disciplines like medicine, science, technology and more importantly in agriculture, to protect crop from different kinds of pest and pathogen on which most of India’s population is completely dependent. This chapter briefly describe the introduction, role and impact of nanotech in management of plant disease. It is considered as modern technology in facing these widespread destructive challenges and causes in controlling in plant disease. In this chapter we tried to summarize the importance of nanotech in sustainable agriculture and application of various nanoparticles (NPs) in the management of plant disease. NPs can be produced by distinct practices, biological and chemical are one of them important methods. Biological method is widely and commercially used. Also, shortly describe the historical background for some NPs types. This chapter briefly focus on the synthesis of some compounds of NPs, for example silver NPs, silver and silica silver etc and their influence on plant disease also briefly describe the working principle of AgNPs against microorganism. NPs may act in accordance with chemical pesticides. Because of microscopic size, NPs have wide scope in virus control in plant. Now day’s biosensors are used for the quick and precise pathogen detection and diagnosis. Regardless of immense scope of NPs application in managing the diseases of plant, there are precise apprehensions, weakness and risk associated with the utility of NPs in agriculture. It is necessary to be figured out on primacy basis prior to trade of NPs in agriculture.

Introduction

The mankind in the past two centuries has witnessed several technology revolutions: industrial, agricultural, medical, info-tech, biotech etc. Nanotechnology is recent one in the series. Nanotechnology is the manipulation or self-assembly of individual atoms, molecules, or molecular clusters into structures to create materials and devices with new or vastly different properties. It uses techniques, processes and materials at the supramolecular level, approximately in a range between 1-100 nanometres (nm), in order to create new properties and to stimulate particular desired functionalities. For the food industry, nanotechnology applications include: release systems for pesticides or fertilizers in agriculture; antibacterial or easy-to-clean surfaces in food processing machines; food additives such as anti-caking in salt, powders and coffee creamers; anti-foaming agents for beer; natural colour additives for beverages; encapsulated nutraceuticals(antioxidants, vitamins) for dietary supplements; and, micelle systems for low-fat foods. It is predicted that in the foreseeable future nanotechnology will transform the entire food industry, changing the way food is produced, processed, packaged, transported, and consumed. The word “nano,” derived from the Greek “nano” signifying “dwarf,” is becoming increasingly too vast in terms of its huge potential in agriculture, health and the environment. In the agricultural sector, nanotech research and development is likely to facilitate next stage of development of genetically modified crops, farm and animal protection and production inputs, food processing, nutraceuticals etc. India is bestowed with a variety of crops, vegetables, fruits, flowers but food sector is handicapped due to inefficiencies in production, processing, storage and packaging. Most of the processing and packaging in industry and agriculture leaves behind a trail of environmental hazards, which if not tackled at this juncture, will add to long term ecological problems.

Modern agriculture prioritizes intensive crop production in a sustainable manner to meet the growing demand for food. However, the increasing prevalence of biotic stresses such as fungal, bacterial, and viral pathogens, along with insect pests and nematodes, poses a serious threat to agricultural productivity. Conventional pest management practices, rely heavily on synthetic chemicals, that have raised concerns due to environmental toxicity, pest resistance, and health risks. Consequently, scientific community is shifting their focus to ecofriendly alternatives to ensure agricultural sustainability. Plant growth-promoting microorganisms, as bioinoculants have gained widespread recognition for their potential to enhance plant development and reduce the harmful effects of agrochemicals. Despite their promise, the field application of bioinoculants remains limited due to poor shelf-life, rapid degradation and instability under field conditions. The integration of nanotechnology with microbial inoculants, referred to as nanobioinoculants, offers an innovative and sustainable solution to these limitations through the development of smart products, and efficient delivery systems. This chapter highlights the functional synergy between nanomaterials and bioinoculants, integration strategies, mechanisms of action, and their role in managing biotic stresses. Nanobioinoculants, including biogenic nanomaterials, nanobio conjugates, and encapsulated bioinoculants offer enhanced plant protection by producing antimicrobial compounds and

Nanobioinoculants (NBIs) represent a transformative advancement in sustainable agriculture, combining nanotechnology with microbial inoculants to address critical challenges in soil health, nutrient use efficiency, and crop resilience. This chapter explores the mechanisms of action of NBIs, from their precise delivery systems and enhanced microbial-plant interactions to their role in stress mitigation and immune priming. Unlike conventional bioinoculants, NBIs leverage nanoscale carriers to improve microbial survival, enable controlled release, and enhance nutrient uptake, offering superior performance under diverse environmental conditions. We examine their ecological impact, field efficacy, and commercialization challenges while highlighting emerging trends such as AIdriven design and CRISPR-enhanced formulations. By integrating fundamental research with practical applications, this chapter underscores the potential of NBIs to revolutionize precision agrobiology, providing a sustainable alternative to chemical inputs.

Over the years synthetic pesticides like herbicides, insecticides nematicides etc. have been used to improve crop yield. Indiscriminate application of pesticides ultimately leads to their excess discharge into water bodies during rainfall and causes death of fish and other aquatic life. Also consumption of seafood/fishes may cause biomagnification of chemicals in human body and leads to several lethal diseases like cancer, diabetes, neurodegenerative disorders like Parkinson, Alzheimer, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), birth defects and reproductive disorders. Likewise synthetic pesticides also damage soil texture, soil microbes and soil fertility. Their residues enter into plants and animal systems and further move into animals or humans body through food chain.

Abstract

Nanotechnology is an emerging field that offers various potential applications in the areas of agriculture, health and medicine. Recent advances in the design and synthesis of nano-materials aids for developing sophisticated nano-devices for clinical research and practice. Applications of nano materials in medicine includes disease diagnosis, early prognosis, detection of pathogens, tumor detection, tissue engineering, target  specific drug delivery,  development of  biomaterials  for oral health  and understanding of cellular mechanisms in live cells using molecular imaging.

Polymer Clay Nanocomposites

Polymer clay nanocomposites has been used as to affect permeability of the maternal to gases and vapours. Majority of papers on nanocomposites have been focused on the use of smectitic type clays as nanoparticles. They are a group of swelling type of clay minerals including montmorilonite, nontronite, saponite, sauconite and hectorite.

A number of polymer-layered silicates (PLS) preparation methods has been reported in literature. The three most common methods to synthesize PLS nanocomposite are intercalation of suitable monomer and subsequent in situ polymerization, intercalation of polymer from solution and polymer melt intercalation.

In general, layered silicates have layer thickness on the order of 1 nm and a very high aspect ratio (e.g. 10–1000). A few weight percent of layered silicates that are properly dispersed throughout the polymer matrix thus create much higher surface area for polymer/filler interaction as compared to conventional composites. Depending on the strength of interfacial interactions between the polymer matrix and layered silicate (modified or not), three different types of PLS nanocomposites are thermodynamically achievable (Fig. 1 and 2 ) as outlined by Sinha Ray and Okamoto (2003). They are as follows:

Introduction

Nanocomposites are materials that incorporate nanosized particles into a standard material matrix. The addition of nanoparticles can significantly improve properties such as mechanical strength, toughness, electrical or thermal conductivity. Typically, only a small amount of material (0.5-5% by weight) is required due to the effectiveness of the nanoparticles. A nanocomposite is a solid material that consists of multiple phases, where at least one of the phases has one, two, or three dimensions in the nanometer size range. The goal of the nanoscale phase process is to achieve synergy between different constituents. Nanocomposites represent a promising alternative to overcome current limitations of microcomposites and monolithics, and are becoming the materials of the future (Schmidt et al., 2002).