Seed Biofortification by Engineered Nanomaterials: A Pathway to Alleviate Malnutrition?

Micronutrient deficiencies in global food chains are a significant cause of ill health around the world, particularly in developing countries. Agriculture is the primary source of nutrients required for sound health, and as the population has continued to grow, the agricultural sector has come under pressure to improve crop production, in terms of both quantity and quality, to meet the global demands for food security. The use of engineered nanomaterial (ENM) has emerged as a promising technology to sustainably improve the efficiency of current agricultural practices as well as overall crop productivity. One promising approach that has begun to receive attention is to use ENM as seed treatments to biofortify agricultural crop production and quality. This review highlights the current state of the science for this approach as well as critical knowledge gaps and research needs that must be overcome to optimize the sustainable application of nano-enabled seed fortification approaches.Jason C. White acknowledges United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Hatch CONH00147 and USDA NIFA AFRI 2020-67022-32416. Jorge Gardea-Torresdey acknowledges USDA Grant 2016-67021-24985 NIFA, partial funding from National Science Foundation (NSF) ERC-1449500, and the Dudley family for the Endowed Research Professorship. Also, Jorge Gardea-Torresdey acknowledges the LERR and STARs Retention Award (2018) of the University of Texas System

Role of Cerium Compounds in Fusarium Wilt Suppression and Growth Enhancement in Tomato (<i>Solanum lycopersicum</i>)

The use of nanoparticles in plant protection may reduce pesticide usage and contamination and increase food security. In this study, three-week-old <i>Solanum lycopersicum</i> seedlings were exposed, by root or foliar pathways, to CeO₂ nanoparticles and cerium acetate at 50 and 250 mg/L prior to transplant into sterilized soil. One week later, the soil was inoculated with the fungal pathogen <i>Fusarium oxysporum</i> f. sp. <i>lycopersici</i> (1 g/kg), and the plants were cultivated to maturity in a greenhouse. Disease severity, biomass/yield, and biochemical and physiological parameters were analyzed in harvested plants. Disease severity was significantly reduced by 250 mg/L of nano-CeO₂ and CeAc applied to the soil (53% and 35%, respectively) or foliage (57% and 41%, respectively), compared with non-treated infested controls. Overall, the findings show that nano-CeO₂ has potential to suppress Fusarium wilt and improve the chlorophyll content in tomato plants