Nanotechnology: A cutting-edge technology in vegetable production
SHWETA SHWETA, Sonia Sood, Akhilesh Sharma, Sanjay Chadha, Vishal Singh Guleria
Abstract
In the modern era, technology is continuously and quickly growing. Nanotechnology is one such technology which is of great concern worldwide. It is basically the manufacturing of particles, materials and products within the nano-scale. At nano scale, properties of matter are altered due to reduced molecular size and changed interactions between molecules. Nano formulations enable smaller quantity of fertilisers/fungicides/pesticides to be used very effectively due to less drug-loading capacity, increase in surface area to volume ratio so that only the important fraction of atom lies on surface, high reactivity, high mobility and better uptake of nutrients by the plants. This is the most imperative benefit of using nano formulations over conventional formulations. Nanotechnology has many applications in vegetable production including enhanced seed germination, seedling development, biotic and abiotic stress detection and management, yield and quality enhancement. In this review, we have focused on the use of nanotechnology for the production of vegetable crops. The review shall help vegetable scientists to plan the vegetable experiments utilising nanotechnological techniques and gives the idea about overall scope and demand of nanotechnology in the olericulture sector which is an aid to conventional methods of vegetable production.