Unveiling the Potential of Bioinoculants and Nanoparticles in Sustainable Agriculture for Enhanced Plant Growth and Food Security
Table 3
The effect of nanoparticles and nanofertilizers on plant growth in the presence of adverse environmental conditions [45, 47, 50, 51, 89–92].
Plant
NPs
Impact of nanoparticle/nanobiofertilizer on plant
Amount applied in range
Inoculation approach used
Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.)
nCeO2
Enhanced plant productivity and higher concentrations of Ce in the grains, and increased levels of Al, Mn, Zn, Fe, K, P, Ca, as well as amino acids and fatty acids.
0–500 mg kg−1 soil
Soil
Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)
Compared to typical plants, the plant was more fit and productive overall; nevertheless, while Ce uptake in the roots increased, there was no change in the seeds, hull, or leaves.
0–500 mg kg−1 soil
Soil
Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)
Antioxidant enzyme activity is increased despite decreased photosynthetic pigments and seed protein. Plant biomass and productivity show no significant effect.
0–400 mg kg−1 soil
Soil
Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)
The pattern of carbohydrates has altered, but the level of starch has shown no change. Increased globulin concentration and decreased glutelin level.
400 mg kg−1 soil
Soil
Cilantro (Coriandrum sativum L.)
The roots had higher levels, CAT, and Ce in the stem.
0–500 mg kg−1 soil
Soil
Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)
nCuO
Increased SOD levels, CAT, ABTS, vitamin C, and lycopene while decreasing GPX and APX activity. Elevated tomato fruit copper accumulation.
50–500 ppm (particle size 50 nm)
Foliar
Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)
Enhanced fruit quality, production, and plant growth and development. Increased antioxidant and lycopene capacity.
0.02–10 ppm
Soil
Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)
ROS production was increased, as were phenolic compounds, amino acids, antioxidant enzyme systems, and citric acid levels.
10–20 ppm
Hydroponic
Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)
Fruit metabolites differed from those of control plants. Organic, amino, and fatty acids as well as sugars were improved.
40 nm (particle size)
Soil
Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum Mill.)
Improved biomass and growth of plant characteristics. Enzymatic activity, leaf gas exchange responses, and upregulated photosynthetic pigments.
10–100 mM
Soil
Onion (Allium cepa L.)
nCuO, nAl2O3, and nTiO2
Influenced mitotic index. Onion roots have higher ROS activity. An increase in the enzymatic activity of CAT and SOD was seen with all of the given NPs.
0–2000 μg mL−1
Petri plate
Kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)
nCu/kinetin
Ca, Mn, and P levels of nutrients and chlorophyll content were decreased, whereas root Cu accumulation increased.
50, 100 mg kg−1 soil
Soil
Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)
nCu–chitosan
Enhanced stomatal conductance, plant performance, production, leaf CAT, and fruit lycopene levels.
0.3–0.015 M
Soil
Maize (Zea mays L.)
nCu, nFe, and nCo (metal NPs)
Enhanced SOD frequency, timing, enzymatic activity, early development, and metabolism in plant leaves to boost stress resistance.
3–5 ppm
Soil irrigation
Maize (Zea mays L.)
nSiO2
Increased biomass, nutrient uptake, thickness of cell wall, Si uptake, and germination rate (%).
20–40 nm
Hydroponic
Soybean (Glycine max L.)
Decreased plant root and leaf epidermis and pericycle Hg uptake, as well as the harmful effects on plant performance. Boost enzymatic reactions and leaf gas exchange.
30–50 nm (particle size)
Soil
Peregrina (Jatropha integerrima)
Increased growth characteristics and biochemical profile were observed.
1–2 mM
Foliar
Mahaleb (Prunus mahaleb L.)
When plants were pretreated with NPs at maximum treatment concentrations and improved nutritional level, i.e., N, P, and K content, improved photosynthetic performance was less affected by stress.
10–100 ppm
Soil irrigation
Faba bean (Vicia faba L.)
Increased productivity, plant size, seed quality, leaf biomass, germination rate, as well as the condition of the nutritional elements Na, Ca, K, P, and N.
1–3 mM
Soil
Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)
Overall improvement over control plants in terms of plant height, leaf count, area expansion, biomass, fruit weights, and quality.
15–120 ppm
Foliar
Strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa)
Plant stems now contain significantly more nutrition content for, e.g., Mn, Fe, Mg, Ca, K, and Si than before, while Cu and Zn levels remained the same.
20–80 ppm
Foliar and soil irrigation
Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.)
Increased chlorophyll content, PS II apparatus, Fv/Fm variables, and photosynthetic efficiency under cold stress.
300 ppm
Foliar
Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.)
Significantly improved plant development, antioxidative enzyme activity, osmolytes, chlorophyll content, metabolite profile, and leaf gas exchanges.
12–250 ppm
Soil
Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)
Reduces the damage that UV radiation causes to plants.
10 μM
Hydroponic
Marigold (Tagetes erecta L.)
Improved biometrics and physiological, biochemical, and floral characteristics, such as fresh and dry flower mass, length of flowering, and time until first bud initiation.
100–600 ppm
Soil and foliar
—
Biogenic amorphous silica (bASi)
Increases the soil’s ability to store water (SWHC). Increased bASi levels, increased soil water availability, and decreased water stress potential.
1–15%
Soil
Soybean (Glycine max L.)
nFe2O3
Increased seed weight and leaf biomass compared to typical plants.
0.25–1 M
Foliar
Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.)
Enhanced plant production, root shape, and growth characteristics. Increased levels of plant hormones, Fe absorption, enzymatic activity, Chl index, and photosynthetic pigments.
2–1000 ppm
Soil
Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)
Enhanced seed germination, morphological characteristics, Fe uptake, and dry weight compared to control plants.
50–800 ppm
Hydroponic
Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)
nTiO2
CAT, APx, and enhanced leaf greenness were all decreased. TiO2 was applied, raising Kand P levels.
0–750 mg kg−1 soil
Soil
Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.)
When compared to untreated and treated plants, applied NPs were observed to promote plant performance by increasing germination (%).
500–1000 mg kg−1 soil
Soil
Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)
Improved mineral absorption and accumulation by plants.
0–1000 mg kg−1 soil
Soil
Spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.)
Enhanced PS II oxygen-evolving rate (OER) and electron transport rate (ETR), enzymatic responses, and decreased ROS level.
0.25%
—
Wheat (Triticum vulgare L.)
No notable effects on the performance of the plant. As NP levels rose, leaf photosynthetic pigments decreased. Increased absorption and storage of nutrients, with the exception of the K level.
5–40 ppm
Hydroponic
Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) and mung bean (Vigna radiata L.)
nTiO2-activated carbon composite
In tomato and mung bean, the right NP concentrations can speed up seed germination and shorten the germination time.
0–500 ppm
Foliar
Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)
nFe3O4
Improved SOD and POD levels as well as plant growth, development, and yield. In order to solve issues with food security and safety, applied NPs improve/balance adequate nutrition management.
50–2000 ppm
Hydroponic
Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.)
Increase the number of chloroplasts, total soluble protein, photosynthetic pigments, and biomass attributes in plants. The excessive dose of NPs had no harmful effects. Excessive NP application decreased CAT and H2O2 activity, and changes were discovered in the genes responsible for photosynthetic plant leaves.
125–1000 ppm
Hydroponic
Chili (Capsicum annuum L.)
nFe
The development of plants was found to benefit from low doses of nFe. Improved grana stacking and chloroplast functional capability. High doses of FeNPs have been proven to harm plants and may halt the dispersion of the nutrient Fe.
0.002–2 mM L−1
Foliar
Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)
nAg
Improved root morphology, germination rate (%), and plant yield. A few genes were identified to have downregulated expression, including CRK1, MAPK2, P5CS, and AREB, which were found to have increased expression (TAS14, DDF2, and ZFHD1).
0.05–2.5 ppm
Seed
Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum Mill.)
The fruit’s qualities and plant performance were improved by the use of NPs.
10–40 ppm
Soil irrigation
Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Mell.)
Hampered plant growth and N2 fixation.
31.2–62.5 mg kg−1 soil
Soil
Maize (Zea mays L.)
nZnO
Enhanced physiological and metabolic processes under high pH treatment. Maximum growth characteristics.
150–300 ppm
Foliar
Mung bean (Vigna radiata L.)
Improved nutrient uptake, growth, and germination rate.
10–100 ppm
Petri plate
Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum Mill.)
Plants’ negative impacts were lessened by ZnO NPs. A lower dose was preferable to a higher one. Different cultivars showed varying levels of stress tolerance.
