Nanopesticides and Nanofertilizers: Emerging Contaminants or Opportunities for Risk Mitigation?

By M. Kah. Frontiers in Chemistry, 2015

304 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Research into nanotechnology applications for use in agriculture has become increasingly popular over the past decade, with a particular interest in developing novel nanoagrochemicals in the form of so-called “nanopesticides” and “nanofertilizers.” In view of the extensive body of scientific literature available on the topic, many authors have foreseen a revolution in current agricultural practices. This perspective integrates scientific, regulatory, public and commercial viewpoints, and aims at critically evaluating progress made over the last decade. A number of key (and sometimes controversial) questions are addressed with the aim of identifying the products that will soon emerge on the market and analyzing how they can fit into current regulatory and commercial frameworks. Issues related to the differences in definitions and perceptions within different sectors are discussed, as well as our current ability to assess new risks and benefits relative to conventional products. Many nanoagrochemicals resemble products used currently, which raises the question whether the effect of formulation has been sufficiently taken into account when evaluating agrochemicals. This analysis identifies directions for future research and regulatory needs in order to encourage intelligent design and promote the development of more sustainable agrochemicals.

Subfields: Materials Chemistry, Plant Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/c624b4f3d1631dff8579c9e87a552e8d6ddcfb53

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Citations in the corpus

Nanotechnology in Sustainable Agriculture: Recent Developments, Challenges, and Perspectives (2017, background): “However, every agrochemical has some potential issues including contamination of water or residues on food products that threat the human being and environmental health, thus the precise management and control of inputs could allow to reduce these risks (Kah, 2015).”
Nanoparticles in the environment: where do we come from, where do we go to? (2018, background): “NP release might also be intended due to their direct application in environmental compartments, for instance, for groundwater remediation such as iron-based NP [41–43] or when applying nano-pesticides directly to agricultural fields [44, 45].”
Interaction of Nanomaterials with Plants: What Do We Need for Real Applications in Agriculture? (2017, background): “We do not want to repeat the story of the genetically modified organisms again, and learn from that (Kah, 2015).”
The Possible Roles of Priming with ZnO Nanoparticles in Mitigation of Salinity Stress in Lupine (Lupinus termis) Plants (2017, background): “Nanotechnology based on new generations NPs might offer enhanced food productivity by lowering or minimizing pathogenic invasions (Choudhury and others 2011).”
Nanotechnology in agriculture: Next steps for understanding engineered nanoparticle exposure and risk (2016, background): “The use of nanotechnology in agriculture has created a great interest, offering the potential for significantly enhanced agricultural productivity and efficiencywith lower cost and lesswaste (Scott and Chen, 2013; Kah, 2015).”