Plant Biostimulation with Nanomaterials (Smart Nanomaterials Technology)

This book covers the topic of biostimulation of crops using nanomaterials to increase crop production and quality improvement, accompanied by the reduction of environmental impact in the form of less use of pesticides and greater efficiency in the use of fertilizers and water. Different classes of biostimulants have been recognized and studied, but nanomaterials are among the most recently considered with a dual category of biostimulation-inducing physical and chemical agents. The physical process of biostimulation occurs through interactions at the interfaces of the nanomaterial corona and cell walls and membranes. In contrast, the chemical process depends on the corona and core composition. The chapters in this book present the different topics of biostimulation with nanomaterials with the consideration of different spheres of organization, from the molecular view to agricultural ecosystems. It looks at the interactions between nanomaterials and plant cells that differ depending on the corona's size, shape, specific surface, and composition, in addition to the dynamic biological contexts of development and interaction with other environmental factors. The book caters to researchers and scientists who are interested in the biostimulation of crops using nanomaterials and their long-term ecological impact.

Dr. Antonio Juárez-Maldonado is an agricultural engineer from the Autonomous University of Zacatecas, Master of Science in Horticulture and Doctor in Production Systems Engineering from the Antonio Narro Autonomous Agrarian University. He is a professor and researcher in the Department of Botany at the Antonio Narro Autonomous Agrarian University and is technical manager of the Conahcyt National Laboratory for Plant Ecophysiology and Food Safety (LANCEVSA). His area of research is plant ecophysiology and focuses on inducing tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress in crops, greenhouse crop production, crop stimulation with nanomaterials and other technologies.

Dr. Adalberto Benavides-Mendoza is a biologist by Antonio Narro Autonomous Agrarian University and doctor in Science by Autonomous University of Nuevo Leon, Mexico. He is a professor and researcher in the Department of Horticulture at the Antonio Narro Autonomous Agrarian University, Mexico. His research interests include plant biostimulation, plant nutrition, and stress tolerance induction using nanometric or bulk species of essential and beneficial elements, biopolymers, and industrial or agricultural sludges. His research focuses on the relationship between plant biostimulation, plant nutrition, tolerance to stress, and the nutritional quality and biofortification of vegetables, fruits, and other crops.

Dr. Dámaris Leopoldina Ojeda-Barrios has a degree in fruit growing from the Autonomous University of Chihuahua and a PhD in Science from the Antonio Narro Autonomous Agrarian University. She is a professor and researcher at the Faculty of Agrotechnological Sciences of the Autonomous University of Chihuahua, Mexico. Her research interests include plant nutrition, biostimulation, physiology of abiotic stress using nanometric spices in horticultural crops. His research focuses on plant nutrition, stress tolerance, biofortification and biostimulation in temperate fruit trees, horticultural species, and others.

Dr. Gonzalo Tortella Fuentes is a professor in the Universidad de La Frontera (Chile). He is the associated member of the Excellence Center in Biotechnological Research Applied to the Environment (CIBAMA). He received his Ph.D. in Natural Resource Sciences in 2008 and the postdoctoral studies during 2008–2010. He has developed research in environmental biotechnology and microbiology, and nanotechnology with agricultural applications. In these research areas has developed several research projects and is author of book chapters, scientific publications, and patents. In the Academy, he has supervised doctoral and undergrad thesis.

Dr. Amedea Barozzi Seabra is professor and researcher at Federal University of ABC (UFABC), São Paulo, Brazil. She has a background in Chemistry, Ph.D. in Sciences (State University of Campinas, Unicamp, São Paulo, Brazil) and post-doctoral in chemistry and biochemistry (Concordia University, Montreal, Canada). Her research interests are based on the development of nitric oxide-releasing nanomaterials and biomaterials for biological applications, including agricultural and biomedical fields.