Silicon-Nanoparticles in Crop Improvement and Agriculture

Abstract

Silicon (Si) is considered as quasi-essential for plant growth and development, and alleviates toxic effects caused by various environmental stresses in plants. Biogenic silica is also deterrent to various plant pathogens, insects and herbivores. The beneficial role of Si-nanoparticles (Si-NPs) is comparatively little explored and less characterized in plants. Green synthesis of Si-NPs is possible from plant sources and agricultural wastes, which are applied in hydroponics-form, soil supplementation or foliar spraying, following which they are transported by symplastic or apoplastic methods and from one cell to the other via plasmodesmata. The mesoporous nature of Si-NPs, presenting a wide surface area, makes them ideal candidates to act as unique carriers for pescticides and fertilizers, giving rise to the concepts like nanopesticides or nanofertilizers that may help adequately in improving the quality of the agricultural system. Si-NPs also facilitate the site-targeted controlled delivery of nucleic acids and nutrients with increased crop protection. Reckoning with all these facts, the present review highlights the process of green synthesis of Si-NPs, their application and uptake by the plants and their role in stimulating plant growth and development, their advantages over conventional fertilizers and pesticides, and their potentiality in mitigating the damages arising from biotic and abiotic stresses in plants. The innovative uses of Si-NPs in agriculture will certainly help to meet the rising demand for food and environmental sustainability in the near future.