Agrochemicals interact synergistically to increase bee mortality.

Global concern over widely documented declines in pollinators1-3 has led to the identification of anthropogenic stressors that, individually, are detrimental to bee populations4-7. Synergistic interactions between these stressors could substantially amplify the environmental effect of these stressors and could therefore have important implications for policy decisions that aim to improve the health of pollinators3,8,9. Here, to quantitatively assess the scale of this threat, we conducted a meta-analysis of 356 interaction effect sizes from 90 studies in which bees were exposed to combinations of agrochemicals, nutritional stressors and/or parasites. We found an overall synergistic effect between multiple stressors on bee mortality. Subgroup analysis of bee mortality revealed strong evidence for synergy when bees were exposed to multiple agrochemicals at field-realistic levels, but interactions were not greater than additive expectations when bees were exposed to parasites and/or nutritional stressors. All interactive effects on proxies of fitness, behaviour, parasite load and immune responses were either additive or antagonistic; therefore, the potential mechanisms that drive the observed synergistic interactions for bee mortality remain unclear. Environmental risk assessment schemes that assume additive effects of the risk of agrochemical exposure may underestimate the interactive effect of anthropogenic stressors on bee mortality and will fail to protect the pollinators that provide a key ecosystem service that underpins sustainable agriculture.

Resolving binding pathways and solvation thermodynamics of plant hormone receptors.

Plant hormones are small molecules that regulate plant growth, development, and responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. They are specifically recognized by the binding site of their receptors. In this work, we resolved the binding pathways for eight classes of phytohormones (auxin, jasmonate, gibberellin, strigolactone, brassinosteroid, cytokinin, salicylic acid, and abscisic acid) to their canonical receptors using extensive molecular dynamics simulations. Furthermore, we investigated the role of water displacement and reorganization at the binding site of the plant receptors through inhomogeneous solvation theory. Our findings predict that displacement of water molecules by phytohormones contributes to free energy of binding via entropy gain and is associated with significant free energy barriers for most systems analyzed. Also, our results indicate that displacement of unfavorable water molecules in the binding site can be exploited in rational agrochemical design. Overall, this study uncovers the mechanism of ligand binding and the role of water molecules in plant hormone perception, which creates new avenues for agrochemical design to target plant growth and development.

Targeted Delivery of Sucrose-Coated Nanocarriers with Chemical Cargoes to the Plant Vasculature Enhances Long-Distance Translocation.

Current practices for delivering agrochemicals are inefficient, with only a fraction reaching the intended targets in plants. The surfaces of nanocarriers are functionalized with sucrose, enabling rapid and efficient foliar delivery into the plant phloem, a vascular tissue that transports sugars, signaling molecules, and agrochemicals through the whole plant. The chemical affinity of sucrose molecules to sugar membrane transporters on the phloem cells enhances the uptake of sucrose-coated quantum dots (sucQD) and biocompatible carbon dots with ß-cyclodextrin molecular baskets (suc-ß-CD) that can carry a wide range of agrochemicals. The QD and CD fluorescence emission properties allowed detection and monitoring of rapid translocation (<40 min) in the vasculature of wheat leaves by confocal and epifluorescence microscopy. The suc-ß-CDs more than doubled the delivery of chemical cargoes into the leaf vascular tissue. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analysis showed that the fraction of sucQDs loaded into the phloem and transported to roots is over 6.8 times higher than unmodified QDs. The sucrose coating of nanoparticles approach enables unprecedented targeted delivery to roots with ≈70% of phloem-loaded nanoparticles delivered to roots. The use of plant biorecognition molecules mediated delivery provides an efficient approach for guiding nanocarriers containing agrochemicals to the plant vasculature and whole plants.

toxCSM: comprehensive prediction of small molecule toxicity profiles.

Drug discovery is a lengthy, costly and high-risk endeavour that is further convoluted by high attrition rates in later development stages. Toxicity has been one of the main causes of failure during clinical trials, increasing drug development time and costs. To facilitate early identification and optimisation of toxicity profiles, several computational tools emerged aiming at improving success rates by timely pre-screening drug candidates. Despite these efforts, there is an increasing demand for platforms capable of assessing both environmental as well as human-based toxicity properties at large scale. Here, we present toxCSM, a comprehensive computational platform for the study and optimisation of toxicity profiles of small molecules. toxCSM leverages on the well-established concepts of graph-based signatures, molecular descriptors and similarity scores to develop 36 models for predicting a range of toxicity properties, which can assist in developing safer drugs and agrochemicals. toxCSM achieved an Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) Curve (AUC) of up to 0.99 and Pearson's correlation coefficients of up to 0.94 on 10-fold cross-validation, with comparable performance on blind test sets, outperforming all alternative methods. toxCSM is freely available as a user-friendly web server and API at http://biosig.lab.uq.edu.au/toxcsm.

Structural Elucidation of Agrochemical Metabolic Transformation Products Based on Infrared Ion Spectroscopy to Improve In Silico Toxicity Assessment.

Toxicological assessments of newly developed agrochemical agents consider chemical modifications and their metabolic and biotransformation products. To carry out an in silico hazard assessment, understanding the type of chemical modification and its location on the original compound can greatly enhance the reliability of the evaluation. Here, we present and apply a method based on liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) enhanced with infrared ion spectroscopy (IRIS) to better delineate the molecular structures of transformation products before in silico toxicology evaluation. IRIS facilitates the recording of IR spectra directly in the mass spectrometer for features selected by retention time and mass-to-charge ratio. By utilizing quantum-chemically predicted IR spectra for candidate molecular structures, one can either derive the actual structure or significantly reduce the number of (isomeric) candidate structures. This approach can assist in making informed decisions. We apply this method to a plant growth stimulant, digeraniol sinapoyl malate (DGSM), that is currently under development. Incubation of the compound in Caco-2 and HepaRG cell lines in multiwell plates and analysis by LC-MS reveals oxidation, glucuronidation, and sulfonation metabolic products, whose structures were elucidated by IRIS and used as input for an in silico toxicology assessment. The toxicity of isomeric metabolites predicted by in silico tools was also assessed, which revealed that assigning the right metabolite structure is an important step in the overall toxicity assessment of the agrochemical. We believe this identification approach can be advantageous when specific isomers are significantly more hazardous than others and can help better understand metabolic pathways.

Derisking Future Agrochemicals before They Are Made: Large-Scale In Vitro Screening for In Silico Modeling of Thyroid Peroxidase Inhibition.

Inhibition of thyroid peroxidase (TPO) is a known molecular initiating event for thyroid hormone dysregulation and thyroid toxicity. Consequently, TPO is a critical off-target for the design of safer agrochemicals. To date, fewer than 500 structurally characterized TPO inhibitors are known, and the most comprehensive result set generated under identical conditions encompasses approximately 1000 compounds from a subset of the ToxCast compound collection. Here we describe a collaboration between wet lab and data scientists combining a large in vitro screen and the subsequent development of an in silico model for predicting TPO inhibition. The screen encompassed more than 100,000 diverse drug-like agrochemical compounds and yielded more than 6000 structurally novel TPO inhibitors. On this foundation, we applied different machine learning techniques and compared their performance. We discuss use cases for in silico TPO models in agrochemical research and explain that model recall is of particular importance when selecting compounds from large virtual compound collections. Furthermore, we show that due to the higher structural diversity of our training data, our final model allowed better generalization than models trained on the ToxCast data set. We now have a tool to predict TPO inhibition even for molecules that are only available virtually, such as hits from virtual screenings, or compounds under consideration for inclusion in our screening collection. Structures and activity data for 34,524 compounds are provided. This data set includes almost all inhibitors, including more than 3000 proprietary structures, and a large proportion of the inactives.

Assessment of the three-test genetic toxicology battery for groundwater metabolites.

The two-test in vitro battery for genotoxicity testing (Ames and micronucleus) has in the majority of cases replaced the three-test battery (as two-test plus mammalian cell gene mutation assay) for the routine testing of chemicals, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and agrochemical metabolites originating from food and feed as well as from water treatment. The guidance for testing agrochemical groundwater metabolites, however, still relies on the three-test battery. Data collated in this study from 18 plant protection and related materials highlights the disparity between the often negative Ames and in vitro chromosome aberration data and frequently positive in vitro mammalian cell gene mutation assays. Sixteen of the 18 collated materials with complete datasets were Ames negative, and overall had negative outcomes in in vitro chromosome damage tests (weight of evidence from multiple tests). Mammalian cell gene mutation assays (HPRT and/or mouse lymphoma assay (MLA)) were positive in at least one test for every material with this data. Where both MLA and HPRT tests were performed on the same material, the HPRT seemed to give fewer positive responses. In vivo follow-up tests included combinations of comet assays, unscheduled DNA synthesis, and transgenic rodent gene mutation assays, all gave negative outcomes. The inclusion of mammalian cell gene mutation assays in a three-test battery for groundwater metabolites is therefore not justified and leads to unnecessary in vivo follow-up testing.

Insights into the functional role of Actinomycetia in promoting plant growth and biocontrol in tea (Camellia sinensis) plants.

Tea, a highly aromatic and globally consumed beverage, is derived from the aqueous infusion of dried leaves of Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze. Northeast India, encompassing an expansive geographical area between 24° and 27° N latitude and 88° and 95° E longitude, is a significant tea-producing region covering approximately 312,210 hectares. Despite its prominence, this region faces persistent challenges owing to a conducive climate that harbors the prevalence of pests, fungal pathogens, and weeds, necessitating agrochemicals. Helopeltis theivora, Oligonychus coffeae, and Biston suppressaria are prominent among the tea pests in this region. Concurrently, tea plants encounter fungal infections such as blister blight, brown root rot, and Fusarium dieback. The growing demand for safer tea production and the need to reduce pesticide and fertilizer usage has spurred interest in exploring biological control methods. This review focuses on Actinomycetia, which potentially safeguards plants from diseases and pest infestations by producing many bioactive substances. Actinomycetia, which resides in the tea rhizosphere and internal plant tissues, can produce antagonistic secondary metabolites and extracellular enzymes while promoting plant growth. Harnessing the biocontrol potential of Actinomycetia offers a promising solution to enhance tea production, while minimizing reliance on harmful agrochemicals, contributing to a more environmentally conscious and economically viable tea cultivation system.

The impact of agrochemical pollutant mixtures on the selection of insecticide resistance in the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae: insights from experimental evolution and transcriptomics.

BACKGROUND: There are several indications that pesticides used in agriculture contribute to the emergence and spread of resistance of mosquitoes to vector control insecticides. However, the impact of such an indirect selection pressure has rarely been quantified and the molecular mechanisms involved are still poorly characterized. In this context, experimental selection with different agrochemical mixtures was conducted in Anopheles gambiae. The multi-generational impact of agrochemicals on insecticide resistance was evaluated by phenotypic and molecular approaches. METHODS: Mosquito larvae were selected for 30 generations with three different agrochemical mixtures containing (i) insecticides, (ii) non-insecticides compounds, and (iii) both insecticide and non-insecticide compounds. Every five generations, the resistance of adults to deltamethrin and bendiocarb was monitored using bioassays. The frequencies of the kdr (L995F) and ace1 (G119S) target-site mutations were monitored every 10 generations. RNAseq was performed on all lines at generation 30 in order to identify gene transcription level variations and polymorphisms associated with each selection regime. RESULTS: Larval selection with agrochemical mixtures did not affect bendiocarb resistance and did not select for ace1 mutation. Contrastingly, an increased deltamethrin resistance was observed in the three selected lines. Such increased resistance was not majorly associated with the presence of kdr L995F mutation in selected lines. RNA-seq identified 63 candidate resistance genes over-transcribed in at least one selected line. These include genes coding for detoxification enzymes or cuticular proteins previously associated with insecticide resistance, and other genes potentially associated with chemical stress response. Combining an allele frequency filtering with a Bayesian FST-based genome scan allowed to identify genes under selection across multiple genomic loci, supporting a multigenic adaptive response to agrochemical mixtures. CONCLUSION: This study supports the role of agrochemical contaminants as a significant larval selection pressure favouring insecticide resistance in malaria vectors. Such selection pressures likely impact kdr mutations and detoxification enzymes, but also more generalist mechanisms such as cuticle resistance, which could potentially lead to cross-tolerance to unrelated insecticide compounds. Such indirect effect of global landscape pollution on mosquito resistance to public health insecticides deserves further attention since it can affect the nature and dynamics of resistance alleles circulating in malaria vectors and impact the efficacy of control vector strategies.

Critical Review: Uptake and Translocation of Organic Nanodelivery Vehicles in Plants.

Nanodelivery vehicles (NDVs) are engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) that, within the agricultural sector, have been investigated for their ability to improve uptake and translocation of agrochemicals, control release, or target specific tissues or subcellular compartments. Both inorganic and organic NDVs have been studied for agrochemical delivery in the literature, but research on the latter has been slower to develop than the literature on the former. Since the two classes of nanomaterials exhibit significant differences in surface chemistry, physical deformability, and even colloidal stability, trends that apply to inorganic NDVs may not hold for organic NDVs, and vice versa. We here review the current literature on the uptake, translocation, biotransformation, and cellular and subcellular internalization of organic NDVs in plants following foliar or root administration. A background on nanomaterials and plant physiology is provided as a leveling ground for researchers in the field. Trends in uptake and translocation are examined as a function of NDV properties and compared to those reported for inorganic nanomaterials. Methods for assessing fate and transport of organic NDVs in plants (a major bottleneck in the field) are discussed. We end by identifying knowledge gaps in the literature that must be understood in order to rationally design organic NDVs for precision agrochemical nanodelivery.

A liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method for the enantioselective multiresidue determination of nine chiral agrochemicals in urine using an enrichment procedure based on graphitized carbon black.

Many agrochemicals are chiral molecules, and most of them are marketed as racemates or diastereomeric mixtures. Stereoisomers that are not the active enantiomer have little or no pesticidal activity and can exert serious toxic effects towards non-target organisms. Thus, investigating the possible exposure to different isomers of chiral pesticides is an urgent need. The present work was aimed at developing a new enantioselective high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method for the simultaneous determination of nine chiral pesticides in urine. Two solid-phase extraction (SPE) procedures, based on different carbon-based sorbents (graphitized carbon black (GCB) and buckypaper (BP)), were developed and compared. By using GCB, all analytes were recovered with yields ranging from 60 to 97%, while BP allowed recoveries greater than 54% for all pesticides except those with acid characteristics. Baseline separation was achieved for the enantiomers of all target agrochemicals on a Lux Cellulose-2 column within 24 min under reversed-phase mode. The developed method was then validated according to the FDA guidelines for bioanalytical methods. Besides recovery, the other evaluated parameters were precision (7-15%), limits of detection (0.26-2.21 µg/L), lower limits of quantitation (0.43-3.68 µg/L), linear dynamic range, and sensitivity. Finally, the validated method was applied to verify the occurrence of the pesticide enantiomers in urine samples from occupationally exposed workers.

Determination of antifungal efficacy and phytotoxicity of a unique silica coated porous zinc oxide nanocomposite medium for slow-release agrochemicals.

AIMS: In this study, the antifungal efficacy and phytotoxicity of silica coated porous zinc oxide nanoparticle (SZNP) were analyzed as this nanocomposite was observed to be a suitable platform for slow release fungicides and has the promise to bring down the dosage of other agrochemicals as well. METHODS AND RESULTS: Loading and release kinetics of tricyclazole, a potent fungicide, were analyzed by measuring surface area (SBET) using Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) isotherm and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), respectively. The antifungal efficacy of ZnO nanoparticle (ZNP) and SZNP was investigated on two phytopathogenic fungi (Alternaria solani and Aspergillus niger). The morphological changes to the fungal structure due to ZNP and SZNP treatment were studied by field emission-scanning electron microscopy. Nanoparticle mediated elevation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in fungal samples was detected by analyzing the levels of superoxide dismutase, catalase, thiol content, lipid peroxidation, and by 2,7-dichlorofluorescin diacetate assay. The phytotoxicity of these two nanostructures was assessed in rice plants by measuring primary plant growth parameters. Further, the translocation of the nanocomposite in the same plant model system was examined by checking the presence of fluorescein isothiocyanate tagged SZNP within the plant tissue. CONCLUSIONS: ZNP had superior antifungal efficacy than SZNP and caused the generation of more ROS in the fungal samples. Even then, SZNP was preferred as an agrochemical delivery vehicle because, unlike ZNP alone, it was not toxic to plant system. Moreover, as silica in nanoform is entomotoxic in nature and nano ZnO has antifungal property, both the cargo (agrochemical) and the carrier system (silica coated porous nano zinc oxide) will have a synergistic effect in crop protection.

Transport of polyethylene and polypropylene microplastics under the action of agricultural chemicals: Role of pesticide adjuvants and neonicotinoid active ingredients.

Understanding the impact of various agricultural chemical components on the fate and transport of microplastics (MPs) in the subsurface is essential. In this study, column experiments on saturated porous media were conducted to explore the influence of the coexistence environment of pesticide adjuvants (surfactants) and active ingredients (neonicotinoids) on the transport of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) MPs. An anionic surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)), a nonionic surfactant (nonylphenol ethoxylate (NP-40)), and three neonicotinoid insecticides (acetamiprid, dinotefuran, and nitenpyram) could independently increase MP migration by 9.31%-61.01% by improving the hydrophilicity. Acetamiprid or dinotefuran reduced the adhesion work of the binary system by competing with SDS for adsorption sites, thereby inhibiting PE mobility. However, nitenpyram in the mixture was not easily adsorbed on the surface of PE MPs together with SDS because of nitenpyram's high hydrophilicity. Neonicotinoid molecules could not reduce the hydrophilic modification of SDS on PP MPs by competing for adsorption sites. Owing to their weak charge and adhesion work of nonionic surfactants (-4.80 mV and 28.45 kT for PE and -8.21 mV and 17.64 kT for PP), neonicotinoids tended to occupy the adsorption sites originally belonging to NP-40. The long molecular chain of NP-40 made it difficult for high-concentration neonicotinoids to affect the adhesion on MPs. In addition, NP-40 was harder to peel off from the MP surface than SDS, leading to a larger MP transport ability in the sand column.

Nano-enabled agrochemicals: mitigating heavy metal toxicity and enhancing crop adaptability for sustainable crop production.

The primary factors that restrict agricultural productivity and jeopardize human and food safety are heavy metals (HMs), including arsenic, cadmium, lead, and aluminum, which adversely impact crop yields and quality. Plants, in their adaptability, proactively engage in a multitude of intricate processes to counteract the impacts of HM toxicity. These processes orchestrate profound transformations at biomolecular levels, showing the plant's ability to adapt and thrive in adversity. In the past few decades, HM stress tolerance in crops has been successfully addressed through a combination of traditional breeding techniques, cutting-edge genetic engineering methods, and the strategic implementation of marker-dependent breeding approaches. Given the remarkable progress achieved in this domain, it has become imperative to adopt integrated methods that mitigate potential risks and impacts arising from environmental contamination on yields, which is crucial as we endeavor to forge ahead with the establishment of enduring agricultural systems. In this manner, nanotechnology has emerged as a viable field in agricultural sciences. The potential applications are extensive, encompassing the regulation of environmental stressors like toxic metals, improving the efficiency of nutrient consumption and alleviating climate change effects. Integrating nanotechnology and nanomaterials in agrochemicals has successfully mitigated the drawbacks associated with traditional agrochemicals, including challenges like organic solvent pollution, susceptibility to photolysis, and restricted bioavailability. Numerous studies clearly show the immense potential of nanomaterials and nanofertilizers in tackling the acute crisis of HM toxicity in crop production. This review seeks to delve into using NPs as agrochemicals to effectively mitigate HM toxicity and enhance crop resilience, thereby fostering an environmentally friendly and economically viable approach toward sustainable agricultural advancement in the foreseeable future.

Retrospective evaluation of the eye irritation potential of agrochemical formulations.

Multiple in vitro eye irritation methods have been developed and adopted as OECD health effects test guidelines. However, for predicting the ocular irritation/damage potential of agrochemical formulations there is an applicability domain knowledge gap for most of the methods. To overcome this gap, a retrospective evaluation of 192 agrochemical formulations with in vivo (OECD TG 405) and in vitro (OECD TG 437, 438, and/or 492) data was conducted to determine if the in vitro methods could accurately assign United Nations Globally Harmonized System for Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) eye irritation hazard classifications. In addition, for each formulation the eye irritation classification was derived from the classification of the contained hazardous ingredients and their respective concentration in the product using the GHS concentration threshold (CT) approach. The results herein suggest that the three in vitro methods and the GHS CT approach were highly predictive of formulations that would not require GHS classification for eye irritation. Given most agrochemical formulations fall into this category, methods that accurately identify non-classified agrochemical formulations could significantly reduce the use of animals for this endpoint.

GARD™skin and GARD™potency: A proof-of-concept study investigating applicability domain for agrochemical formulations.

Several New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) for hazard assessment of skin sensitisers have been formally validated. However, data regarding their applicability on certain product classes are limited. The purpose of this project was to provide initial evidence on the applicability domain of GARD™skin and GARD™potency for the product class of agrochemical formulations. For this proof of concept, 30 liquid and 12 solid agrochemical formulations were tested in GARDskin for hazard predictions. Formulations predicted as sensitisers were further evaluated in the GARDpotency assay to determine GHS skin sensitisation category. The selected formulations were of product types, efficacy groups and sensitisation hazard classes representative of the industry's products. The performance of GARDskin was estimated by comparing results to existing in vivo animal data. The overall accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity were 76.2% (32/42), 85.0% (17/20), and 68.2% (15/22), respectively, with the predictivity for liquid formulations being slightly higher compared to the solid formulations. GARDpotency correctly subcategorized 14 out of the 17 correctly predicted sensitisers. Lack of concordance was justifiable by compositional or borderline response analysis. In conclusion, GARDskin and GARDpotency showed satisfactory performance in this initial proof-of-concept study, which supports consideration of agrochemical formulations being within the applicability domain of the test methods.

Special Issue "Development and Synthesis of Biologically Active Compounds".

The intention of this Special Issue is to focus on new achievements in the design, preparation, and in vitro and in vivo biological evaluation of bioactive molecules that can result in the development of natural or artificial potent compounds looking for promising pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals [...].

Shadow prices of agrochemicals in the Chinese farming sector: A convex expectile regression approach.

The use of agrochemical inputs has significantly enhanced agricultural yields in China; however, their excessive utilization has also caused a range of environmental issues. This paper examines the costs associated with reducing agrochemicals by employing shadow prices, which represent the value of the marginal product of agrochemicals, to further develop cost-effective environmental policy measures for reducing their usage. To this end, the shadow prices of agrochemicals have been assessed by adopting a newly developed convex expectile regression approach and using statistical data from 31 provinces in China spanning from 2005 to 2020. Furthermore, the present study investigates the disparities between shadow prices and market prices for different agrochemicals across various regions in China. The findings suggest that the costs of reducing chemical fertilizers are higher than those of reducing pesticides and plastic films. Moreover, the results indicate that central China exhibits relatively high potential for decreasing agrochemical usage. Finally, these findings can inform the Chinese government's restructuring of producer support and environmental policy in a cost-effective way to mitigate agrochemicals use in the future. Additionally, the research method employed in this study holds potential for extension to other agrochemicals-dependent countries.

Nanotechnology in sustainable agriculture: A double-edged sword.

Nanotechnology is a rapidly developing discipline that has the potential to transform the way we approach problems in a variety of fields, including agriculture. The use of nanotechnology in sustainable agriculture has gained popularity in recent years. It has various applications in agriculture, such as the development of nanoscale materials and devices to boost agricultural productivity, enhance food quality and safety, improve the efficiency of water and nutrient usage, and reduce environmental pollution. Nanotechnology has proven to be very beneficial in this field, particularly in the development of nanoscale delivery systems for agrochemicals such as pesticides, fertilizers, and growth regulators. These nanoscale delivery technologies offer various benefits over conventional delivery systems, including better penetration and distribution, enhanced efficacy, and lower environmental impact. Encapsulating agrochemicals in nanoscale particles enables direct delivery to the targeted site in the plant, thereby reducing waste and minimizing off-target effects. Plants are fundamental building blocks of all ecosystems and evaluating the interaction between nanoparticles (NPs) and plants is a crucial aspect of risk assessment. This critical review therefore aims to provide an overview of the latest advances regarding the positive and negative effects of nanotechnology in agriculture. It also explores potential future research directions focused on ensuring the safe utilization of NPs in this field, which could lead to sustainable development. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.