Nanoparticle-Associated Phytotoxicity and Abiotic Stress Under Agroecosystems

The field of nanotechnology has gained a great progress regarding the agriculture and food industry. Thereby, an excessive use of engineered nanomaterials has led to spread huge amounts of nanoscale materials in the agroecosystems. Soil–plant system was and still one of the most environmental compartments regarding the fate and behavior of nanoparticles. This system, which has more than a treasure, also represents the rhizosphere area including dynamic and fate of different nutrients as well as the microbial activity in soils. These treasures include the significance of soil–plant system in plant nutrition, the biogeochemistry of nutrients, pedosphere and its interactions with nutrients, phyto- or bioremediation and biofortification, soil fertilization, and the sustainability of agroecosystem. No doubt that nanoparticles may exhibit both negative and beneficial effects on higher plants including the physiological, molecular, and biochemical parameters of various plant parts. So, there is a crucial need for understanding different biochemical and physical processes of plants associated with the exposure for nanoparticles and evaluating the role of these nanoparticles in either enhancing or retarding these plant features. Therefore, the tasks of nanoparticles in mitigating or ameliorating the plant stress and phytotoxicity should be investigated in more detail. Furthermore, more comprehensive studies are needed in order to perform the expanded knowledge on the alterations induced by different nanoparticles on different plant mechanisms including the biochemical, physiological, and molecular levels. Moreover, long-term investigations are also needed to be conducted to evaluate different roles of nanoparticles in regulating various plant physiological processes under stress. One great mission is also requested regarding the construction of a global database, which would be helpful for setting a global nano-agro-database accessible and useful worldwide.