Biosynthesis of nanoparticles and applications in agriculture

Abstract Physical, chemical, and biological methods have been used to synthesize various types of nanoparticles. In the last few decades, different types of metallic nanoparticles including gold, silver, copper, tellurium, titanium, selenium, platinum, and palladium have been synthesized from plants and microbes including bacteria, actinomycetes, fungi, and cynobacteria. However, despite the stability, the rate of biological nanoparticle synthesis by other methods is slower than microbial synthesis. Today many metallic nanoparticles and their oxides are being considered for direct applications in soils to enter plants to reduce the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides and to increase the yields of crops.