Biogenic nanoparticles for managing salinity stress-related crop and environmental risks: realistic applications and challenges

Abstract Every year, high salinity reduces agricultural yields by a substantial amount owing to osmotic and ionic impacts that prevent plants from absorbing the required water and promote the hyperaccumulation of ions, which enter the transpiration stream and injure plant cells. Several crops have been shown to benefit from the application of green or biogenic NPs of varying shapes, sizes, and concentrations, which are intended to protect crops against salt stress through enhanced growth metrics, seed germination and yield, improved root architecture, and defensive changes in biochemical/physiological indices. Although the underlying molecular basis of this phenomenon remains unclear, some studies have shown that exposing cells to NPs can alter the expression of several genes that generally respond to salt stress. As a result, biogenic NPs are considered viable alternative techniques for reducing the adverse effects of salinity stress on agricultural production. In the present review, keen emphasis has been placed on how biogenic NPs are helpful in decreasing the adverse effects of salinity stress on crops, which might be useful for the agriculture sector in the coming climate change era.