Mission ‘sustainable agriculture’: mitigating abiotic stress with nano particles

In agro-ecosystems, abiotic stress effects can create havoc diminishing productivity and severely deteriorating yield and yield quality. To meet the rising food and feed crisis, rigorous control of productivity and yield losses in agriculture due to environmental stress must be executed. Coupled with climate change, abiotic stress is causing havoc to crop physiology, productivity and quality of agricultural produce. With the SDG 2 target of Zero Hunger to an unprecedented 8.5 billion by 2030, such massive loss of agricultural yield and economy poses a huge challenge. Stress mediated responses of plants are multiple and varied. Nanotechnology is an emerging field which could profoundly affect crop stress physiology through biotechnological and biochemical interventions to usher in a new era of Sustainable Agriculture and Zero Hunger. Such interventions may be suggested for a paradigm shift towards sustainable agriculture and to meet the massive global challenge of 70% rise in crop output for the rising millions of 2050.