Plant-mediated bioinspired iron nanoparticles as an alternative to enhance crop resistance against biotic and abiotic stress; a review

Abstract

Stresses (abiotic and biotic) in plants are important environmental constraints that reduce agricultural production and crop nutritional values. This poses severe food scarcity. Efficient sensory equipment and applications for effectively determining diseases of plants are essential to ensuring agriculture's viability and food production. In modern agriculture, nanotechnology helps to combat nutrient deficiency, promote stress tolerance, and improve the quality and yield of crops. The phytogenic synthesis of nanoparticles that is environmentally harmless, cost-effective, and excellent biocompatibility is considered as best strategy compared to other traditional synthesis methods. Iron nanoparticles (FeNPs) have garnered significant attention among other nanoparticle kinds because of their unique features, which include superparamagnetism, a higher surface-to-volume ratio, a larger surface area, and an easy separation process. FeNPs have good efficiency in mitigating stress caused by abiotic and biotic factors in crops which can enhance their productivity. When biotic and abiotic stress is perceived by plant, it rises the production of ROS, altered the anatomical structures (such as RNA, DNA, protein, organelle), reduced the growth and productivity of plant. In severe condition, plant may die. Application of FeNPs activates the stress related gene expressions their pathways that ultimately upregulate stress related proteins. They also trigger biochemical redox enzymes, osmoprotectants and antioxidant defense mechanism which confer tolerance. It also improves the uptake of minerals and increases photosynthesis, as a result plant resuscitate. FeNPs might raise crop antioxidant levels, boost growth, improve soil nutritional status, and increase tolerance to different oxidative stressors. This review aims to investigate the efficacy of iron nanoparticles in mitigating the adverse consequences of biotic and abiotic stresses on plants, focusing on the underlying mechanisms and promising applications in sustainable agriculture.