Role of nanofertilizers in improving abiotic stress tolerance

Nanofertilizers (NFs) are materials on the nanometer scale (1–100 nm) containing macro and/or micronutrients. They possess unique physical and chemical characteristics and thus have great potential to deliver nutrients to plants with high efficiency and low cost. Abiotic stresses like drought, salinity, heat, and heavy metals are crucial limitations that greatly affect the productivity of plant crops. For the management of abiotic stress and to overturn crop productivity loss caused by abiotic stress in plant crops, the NFs are applied to protect plants and enhance nutrient use efficiency and agricultural sustainability. This chapter overviews, discusses, and reports on the potential application and use of NFs to enhance the mitigating capabilities of plants under abiotic stresses. In addition, it covers the toxic effects of nanomaterials on crops and discusses the need to develop future greener and ecofriendly nanoparticle-based fertilizers to combat the harmful impact of abiotic stresses on crop productivity.