Nanoparticle-Enhanced, Agrochemical Delivery Systems in Sustainable Agriculture

Conventional fertilizers and pesticides often suffer from low use efficiency due to volatilization, leaching, runoff, photodegradation, and non-target deposition. These losses increase costs, accelerate environmental pollution, and can intensify resistance development in pests and pathogens. Nanoparticle-enabled delivery systems offer a promising route to improve agrochemical performance by enhancing stability, adhesion, solubility, and transport across plant surfaces and tissues.By tailoring particle size, surface chemistry, porosity, and degradability, nano-carriers can enable controlled release, stimuli-responsive activation, and co-delivery of actives with adjuvants or micronutrients. However, translation from lab demonstrations to realistic agronomic conditions requires stronger mechanistic understanding, standardized testing, and robust assessment of fate, efficacy, and safety.This Research Topic aims to showcase advances in nanoparticle-enhanced fertilizers and pesticides that increase delivery efficiency while reducing non-target impacts. We welcome studies that (i) design nano-enabled formulations for improved loading, stabilization, and controlled release of nutrients and active ingredients; (ii) elucidate transport pathways across cuticles, stomata, roots, and vascular tissues; (iii) quantify performance gains under realistic soils, climates, and management practices; and (iv) evaluate environmental fate, bioavailability, and potential risks to beneficial organisms and food systems. Submissions should emphasize clear performance metrics (e.g., yield response, nutrient recovery, pest suppression, dose reduction), reproducible formulation/characterizations, and evidence-based claims. We particularly encourage work that bridges mechanistic insight with field relevance and scalable, sustainable manufacturing routes.This Topic covers nano-carriers and nanoformulations for agrochemicals, including (but not limited to) mesoporous silica, polymers/biopolymers, lipids, nanoclays, carbonaceous materials, metal/metal oxides, and hybrid or stimuli-responsive systems. Relevant themes include but are not limited to the following:• Formulation design and characterization• Encapsulation/co-delivery• Foliar and root delivery• Cuticular penetration and translocation• Adhesion and rainfastness• Controlled release kinetics• Interactions with soils, microbiomes, and plant physiology• Advanced tracking and imaging (e.g., isotope tracing, elemental mapping, particle counting)• Comparative benchmarking against conventional products.We also welcome life cycle, regulatory, and safety-focused studies (exposure, degradation, ecotoxicity, and food-chain considerations). Accepted manuscript types include Original Research, Reviews, Mini Reviews, Methods, and Perspectives. Topic editors: Xiaoyu Gao, Jing Liu, Yi Wang, Anirban Kundu Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/77968/nanoparticle-enhanced-agrochemical-delivery-systems-in-sustainable-agriculture