Advances in Nanotechnology for Monitoring and Enhancing Plant Physiological Responses Under Environmental Stress

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Physiology and Metabolism".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 411

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Institute of Research on Terrestrial Ecosystems (IRET), National Research Council (CNR), Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, FI, Italy
Interests: plant biology; food security; THz imaging; enzyme; molecular biology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Engineering, INSTM RU, University of Rome “Niccolò Cusano”, Via Don Carlo Gnocchi 3, 00166 Roma, Italy
Interests: biomaterials; bioceramics; biopolymers; biocomposites; ecosustainable materials; scaffold; spheres; fibers; coatings; sol–gel processes; valorization of agro-food waste extracts and by-products; electrospinning; additive manufacturing; physicochemical characterization; microstructure; thermal and mechanical properties; tissue engineering/regenerative medicine; drug delivery
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The aim of this Special Issue “Advances in Nanotechnology for Monitoring and Enhancing Plant Physiological Responses Under Environmental Stress” is to advance current understanding and applications of nanotechnology to address the challenges posed by environmental stresses in plants. This issue seeks to bring together innovative research that explores nanoscale tools and technologies to monitor plant health, decode stress signaling pathways, and enhance plant resilience under abiotic and biotic stress conditions.

The scope of this Special Issue encompasses the following topics:

  • The development and application of nanosensors for detecting plant physiological changes under stress.
  • Innovative nanomaterials for the targeted delivery of agrochemicals, nutrients, and growth stimulants.
  • The exploration of plant–nanoparticle interactions and their implications for stress adaptation.
  • Strategies for integrating nanotechnology into precision agriculture to mitigate environmental challenges.
  • Studies on the environmental, ecological, and safety aspects of nanotechnology in agricultural systems.

This Special Issue will include original research articles, reviews, and perspectives that demonstrate how nanotechnology can revolutionize plant stress management and contribute to sustainable agriculture

Dr. Mario Pagano
Prof. Dr. Ilaria Cacciotti
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • nanotechnology
  • plant physiological responses
  • environmental stress
  • nanosensors
  • stress mitigation
  • sustainable agriculture
  • precision farming
  • nanomaterials
  • plant–nanoparticle interactions
  • abiotic stress
  • biotic stress
  • stress tolerance
  • agricultural nanotechnology

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

33 pages, 1864 KiB  
Review
The Emerging Roles of Nanoparticles in Managing the Environmental Stressors in Horticulture Crops—A Review
by Mohamed K. Abou El-Nasr, Karim M. Hassan, Basma T. Abd-Elhalim, Dmitry E. Kucher, Nazih Y. Rebouh, Assiya Ansabayeva, Mostafa Abdelkader, Mahmoud A. A. Ali and Mohamed A. Nasser
Plants 2025, 14(14), 2192; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14142192 - 15 Jul 2025
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Abstract
The primary worldwide variables limiting plant development and agricultural output are the ever-present threat that environmental stressors such as salt (may trigger osmotic stress plus ions toxicity, which impact on growth and yield of the plants), drought (provokes water stress, resulting in lowering [...] Read more.
The primary worldwide variables limiting plant development and agricultural output are the ever-present threat that environmental stressors such as salt (may trigger osmotic stress plus ions toxicity, which impact on growth and yield of the plants), drought (provokes water stress, resulting in lowering photosynthesis process and growth rate), heavy metals (induced toxicity, hindering physiological processes also lowering crop quantity and quality), and pathogens (induce diseases that may significantly affect plant health beside productivity). This review explores the integrated effects of these stressors on plant productivity and growth rate, emphasizing how each stressor exceptionally plays a role in physiological responses. Owing to developments in technology that outclass traditional breeding methods and genetic engineering techniques, powerful alleviation strategies are vital. New findings have demonstrated the remarkable role of nanoparticles in regulating responses to these environmental stressors. In this review, we summarize the roles and various applications of nanomaterials in regulating abiotic and biotic stress responses. This review discusses and explores the relationship between various types of nanoparticles (metal, carbon-based, and biogenic) and their impact on plant physiology. Furthermore, we assess how nanoparticle technology may play a role in practices of sustainable agriculture by reducing the amount of compounds used, providing them with a larger surface area, highly efficient mass transfer abilities, and controlled, targeted delivery of lower nutrient or pesticide amounts. A review of data from several published studies leads to the conclusion that nanoparticles may act as a synergistic effect, which can effectively increase plant stress tolerance and their nutritional role. Full article
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