Beyond the hype: What agriculture really needs from nanotechnology
- 1Instituto de Investigación y Formación Agraria y Pesquera de Andalucía (IFAPA), Área de Mejora Vegetal y Biotecnología, Centro Alameda del Obispo, Córdoba, Spain
Abstract
Agriculture is facing several major challenges including simultaneously the demands of increasing production, reducing its environmental impact and complying with increasingly tightening regulation, while climate change adds even more pressure to the system. Nanotechnology has often been presented as a promising solution to these challenges, with a number of publications and patents on nano-enabled agrochemicals quickly growing over the last twenty years. However, the incorporation of nanoformulated products in real farming is still very limited, revealing a remarkable gap between scientific promise and agronomic practice. In this review we maintain a sceptical enthusiasm to ask what agriculture really needs from nanotechnology. We first analyse the main advantages that nano-enabled formulations may provide (protection and stabilization of active ingredients, controlled and stimulus-triggered release, and improved uptake and internalization) and differentiate between systems in which the nanomaterial is itself the active ingredient (Type 1) and those in which it acts as a carrier (Type 2). Later we compare these potential advantages with the main limitations under field performance, cost per hectare, scalability, storage, effects on soil and microbial health, and regulation, showing that the main barriers to adoption are mostly economic and practical rather than scientific. We therefore suggest that nanotechnology should not be considered a universal solution but a toolbox for solving specific, well-defined problems. Finally, based on the available evidence, we discuss the conditions that, in our opinion, nano-enabled products should fulfil to achieve broader adoption: field-validated efficacy, economic viability at the hectare scale, compatibility with existing farming practices, and a clear environmental and regulatory profile supporting their long-term use.
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BibTeX
@article{perezdeluque2026beyond,
title = {{Beyond the hype: What agriculture really needs from nanotechnology}},
author = {Alejandro Pérez-de-Luque},
journal = {Plant Nano Biology},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1016/j.plana.2026.100371},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plana.2026.100371},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Beyond the hype: What agriculture really needs from nanotechnology
AU - Alejandro Pérez-de-Luque
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/08
JO - Plant Nano Biology
DO - 10.1016/j.plana.2026.100371
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plana.2026.100371
AB - Agriculture is facing several major challenges including simultaneously the demands of increasing production, reducing its environmental impact and complying with increasingly tightening regulation, while climate change adds even more pressure to the system. Nanotechnology has often been presented as a promising solution to these challenges, with a number of publications and patents on nano-enabled agrochemicals quickly growing over the last twenty years. However, the incorporation of nanoformulated products in real farming is still very limited, revealing a remarkable gap between scientific promise and agronomic practice. In this review we maintain a sceptical enthusiasm to ask what agriculture really needs from nanotechnology. We first analyse the main advantages that nano-enabled formulations may provide (protection and stabilization of active ingredients, controlled and stimulus-triggered release, and improved uptake and internalization) and differentiate between systems in which the nanomaterial is itself the active ingredient (Type 1) and those in which it acts as a carrier (Type 2). Later we compare these potential advantages with the main limitations under field performance, cost per hectare, scalability, storage, effects on soil and microbial health, and regulation, showing that the main barriers to adoption are mostly economic and practical rather than scientific. We therefore suggest that nanotechnology should not be considered a universal solution but a toolbox for solving specific, well-defined problems. Finally, based on the available evidence, we discuss the conditions that, in our opinion, nano-enabled products should fulfil to achieve broader adoption: field-validated efficacy, economic viability at the hectare scale, compatibility with existing farming practices, and a clear environmental and regulatory profile supporting their long-term use.
SN - 2773-1111
ER -