Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
9.3 Nanotechnology in Agriculture
The application of nanotechnology in agriculture is a relatively new approach, and
it has been increasing in the last decade (Savithramma et al.
2012
; Dur´n and
Marcato
2013
; Riccio and Schoenfisch
2013
). Many advantages are possible to
reach, such as efficient and safe delivery of fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides.
Nanoencapsulation of these agricultural defensives can lead to a better storage and
controlled release of the agrochemicals directly to the target site of application
(Ditta
2012
; Grover et al.
2012
). It is clear from the literature that these
nanomaterials have a great potential to avoid degradation of the agrochemicals in
the environment, reduce the doses to be applied, decrease costs, and control excess
chemicals (Ditta
2012
; Grover et al.
2012
). Scheme
9.2
highlights some interesting
nanostructure platforms that have a great potential to be used as vehicles to carry
and to deliver NO in agriculture. This chapter will present and discuss each
nanomaterial.
9.3.1 Liposomes
Many applications of liposomes have been described as model membranes of plant
organelles (e.g., plant aging, drying, and freezing tolerance against toxins, pesti-
cides, etc.) (Taylor et al.
2005
). An interesting property of these lipid vesicles is to
Scheme 9.2 Some interesting nanostructure platforms that have a great potential as vehicles to
deliver NO in agriculture
