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A critical evaluation of nanopesticides and nanofertilizers against their conventional analogues

Nature Nanotechnology volume 13, pages 677–684 (2018)Cite this article

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Abstract

Among a wide range of possible applications of nanotechnology in agriculture, there has been a particular interest in developing novel nanoagrochemicals. While some concerns have been expressed regarding altered risk profile of the new products, many foresee a great potential to support the necessary increase in global food production in a sustainable way. A critical evaluation of nanoagrochemicals against conventional analogues is essential to assess the associated benefits and risks. In this assessment, recent literature was critically analysed to determine the extent to which nanoagrochemicals differ from conventional products. Our analysis was based on 78 published papers and shows that median gain in efficacy relative to conventional products is about 20–30%. Environmental fate of agrochemicals can be altered by nanoformulations, but changes may not necessarily translate in a reduction of the environmental impact. Many studies lacked nano-specific quality assurance and adequate controls. Currently, there is no comprehensive study in the literature that evaluates efficacy and environmental impact of nanoagrochemicals under field conditions. This is a crucial knowledge gap and more work will thus be necessary for a sound evaluation of the benefits and new risks that nanoagrochemicals represent relative to existing products.

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Fig. 1: Key drivers for applying nanotechnology to improve the efficacy of agrochemicals.
Fig. 2: Nanopesticide toxicity to its target.
Fig. 3: Comparisons of important environmental fate processes of nanopesticides with those of conventional analogues and AIs.
Fig. 4: Efficacy of nanofertilizers relative to their conventional analogues.
Fig. 5: Sizes of physical entities in nanopesticides and nanofertilizers (inorganic particles, polymers, micelles) determined by light scattering (dynamic light scattering and nanoparticle tracking analysis) and microscopy (transmission and scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy).

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Acknowledgements

M.K. was supported by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF V408-N28) and A.G. was supported by the European Commission (NanoFASE, GA 646002). M.K. and R.S.K. acknowledge the support from CSIRO and the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry.

Author contributions

T.D.B. and M.K. initiated the project. R.S.K. collected and analysed the data on pesticide efficacy, M.K. on pesticide fate, T.D.B. on fertilizer fate and efficacy, and A.G. on pesticide and fertilizer size. All authors discussed the results and contributed to the manuscript. M.K. assembled and refined the manuscript.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Geosciences and Environmental Science Research Network, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Melanie Kah

  2. Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Land and Water, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

    Melanie Kah & Rai Singh Kookana

  3. Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Dübendorf, Switzerland

    Alexander Gogos

  4. Environmental Analytics, Agroscope, Zürich, Switzerland

    Thomas Daniel Bucheli

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Kah, M., Kookana, R.S., Gogos, A. et al. A critical evaluation of nanopesticides and nanofertilizers against their conventional analogues. Nature Nanotech 13, 677–684 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-018-0131-1

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