GABA-Decorated Nanocarrier for Smart Delivery of Fludioxonil for Targeted Control of Banana Wilt Disease

Developing a targeted nanopesticide to control the vascular disease of banana in agriculture is crucial to improve pesticide utilization. In this study, according to the degree of functionalization, three γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-decorated nanocarriers (PSI-GABA8, PSI-GABA18, and PSI-GABA28) were constructed for smart delivery of nonsystemic fungicide in banana phloem tissues. Fludioxonil (Flu) was loaded in nanocarriers to form Flu@PSI-GABA nanoparticles with a core/shell structure for control of banana wilt disease. Results demonstrated that the delivery dosage of Flu was up to 1.6 mg/L in castor phloem sap using PSI-GABA28 nanocarriers. In vitro results showed that the EC50 of Flu@PSI-GABA28 was 0.0116 mg/L, and the inhibitory activity was about 8.8 times higher than that of technical-grade (TC) Flu. Flu@PSI-GABA28 could be transported for long distances and accumulated to the rhizome of banana by foliar application, and the control effectiveness was about 20 times that of the conventional Flu (50% WP) for the banana wilt. This study provides a distinctive guidance for effective control of vascular diseases in precision agriculture application.