Nanopesticides: A Systematic Review of Their Prospects With Special Reference to Tea Pest Management

Abstract

Background: Tea is a natural beverage made from the tender leaves of the tea plant (Camellia sinensis Kuntze). Being of a perennial and monoculture nature in terms of its cultivation system, it provides a stable micro-climate for various insect pests, which cause substantial loss of crop. With the escalating cost of insect pest management and increasing concern about the adverse effects of the pesticide residues in manufactured tea, there is an urgent need to explore other avenues for pest management strategies.Aim: Integrated pest management (IPM) in tea invites an multidisciplinary approach owing to the high pest diversity in the perennial tea plantation system. In this review, we have highlighted current developments of nanotechnology for crop protection and the prospects of nanoparticles (NPs) in plant protection, emphasizing the control of different major pests of tea plantations.Methods: A literature search was performed using the ScienceDirect, Web of Science, Pubmed, and Google Scholar search engines with the following terms: nanotechnology, nanopesticides, tea, and insect pest. An article search concentrated on developments after 1988.Results: We have described the impact of various pests in tea production and innovative approaches on the use of various biosynthesized and syntheric nanopesticides against specific insect pest targets. Simultaneously, we have provided support for NP-based technology and their different categories that are currently employed for the management of pests in different agro-ecosystems. Besides the broad categories of active ingredients (AI) of synthetic insecticides, pheromones and natural resource-based molecules have pesticidal activity and can also be used with NPs as a carriers as alternatives to traditional pest control agents. Finally, the merits and demerits of incorporating NP-based nanopesticides are also illustrated.Conclusions: Nanopesticides for plant protection is an emerging research field, and it offers new methods to design active ingredients amid nanoscale dimensions. Nanopesticide-based formulations have a potential and bright future for the development of more effective and safer pesticide/biopesticides.

Insecticidal Effect of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles against Spodoptera frugiperda under Laboratory Conditions

“…Complete characterization of the particles is available at the company and can be accessed through their website http://www.nano.kmitl.ac.th (accessed on 4 November 2021). Naturally, the aqueous suspensions of nanoparticles are stable but usually, they suffer aggregation in water; hence, the suspensions were vortexed for 10-20 min before use in the treatments [3].…”

“…However, the increased use of chemical insecticides causes environmental contamination, bioaccumulation, and human toxicity. Also, prolonged application of the compounds found in these chemicals accounts for resistance in several insect pests in agriculture including fall armyworm [3]. That notwithstanding, for chemical pesticides to work effectively, timing must be accurate for proper management of the same.…”

Silica Nanoparticles and Surface Silanization for the Fabrication of Water-Repellent Cotton Fibers

“…First, the combination of fluorescent core–shell SiP deposition and binary silanization increased the stability of the water repellency compared to other methodologies. ,, Our methodology uses fluorine-free polymers at low concentrations (approximately 4%) and solvents with low toxicity potential (e.g., water and ethanol). ,,, In addition, the fluorescent core–shell SiPs were used as fluorescent probes to facilitate the coating detection on the surface of the fibers. By tuning the type of molecule being encapsulated into the core–shell, the fibers can be designed to be luminescent, antimicrobial, or insect repellent, to name a few. ,,− In this way, the fluorescent core–shell SiPs produced in this work can act as a robust and multifunctional platform to provide hydrophobicity, corrosion resistance, and self-cleaning properties to the cotton fibers. ,, Finally, they can also be tuned to work as antimicrobial, antisticking, oil–water separation, and insect repellent agents for a myriad of applications. , …”

Stability Phenomena Associated with the Development of Polymer-Based Nanopesticides

“…Although the synthesis process of nanospheres is very similar to nanocapsules, the mean particle size, size dispersion, and loading efficiency of the nanospheres depend on the polymers employed [ 57 ]. The size of the nanospheres depends, among other aspects, on the molecular weight of the polymers, observing a larger size with larger polymers (high molecular weight) [ 1 , 60 – 62 ].…”