Fritillaria cirrhosa derived bio silver nanoparticles based nanobiopesticide: an effective antifungal agent against cobweb disease in mushroom crop

Abstract

Global population growth demands quality food, prompting increased use of agrochemicals to boost agricultural productivity. However, balancing the benefits and risks of these chemicals is crucial to protecting ecosystems and ensuring food security, highlighting the need for sustainable disease management methods, including bio control agents. The continuous search for environmentally friendly pesticides and sustainable methods has led to the investigation of plant- derived bionanoparticles that can be called ‘nanobiopesticides’. Their enhanced pesticidal characteristics and regulated release make them promising options for crop protection applications. In this investigation, we sought the use of plant Fritillaria cirrhosa derived bio silver nanoparticles (FC-bAgNPs) and their application as nanobiopesticide. For the production of stable FC-bAgNPs, the effects of the extract amount and concentration of silver salt were all optimized at the laboratory level. UV–visible spectrum analysis, which revealed a distinct surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peak at 450 nm, was used to confirm that bAgNPs had been photo fabricated using plant extract of F. cirrhosa. The functional groups, shape, size and stabilization of FC-bAgNPs were confirmed using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) techniques. The practical applicability of developed FC-bAgNPs based nanobiopesticides has been checked by screening their antifungal activity against Cladobotryum dendroides, a fungal spice responsible for cobweb disease in commercially cultivated mushrooms. The results showed that the prepared nanobiopesticide effectively controlled fungal growth in the tested samples. Overall, this study provided evidence that the developed FC-bAgNPs successfully acted as an environment-friendly nanobiopesticide to combat fungal disease in mushroom crop. This research is a very important development in the way to achieve the goal of sustainable agriculture.