Nontarget Effects of Nanobioherbicides

Abstract

With integrated weed management system considered the best option to limiting the weed menace and economic losses in agriculture, most, if not all of the convectional herbicides persist in soil for a longer period than desirable, yet not readily available for plant uptake. Nanobioherbicides, with simplicity of usage and owing to their surface areas interact with target weeds through regulated release systems even at large scale applications, but their residues in soil and crops can enter the food chain via contact routes of exposure to affect the non-target organisms, thus, the ecofriedliness of the nanobioherbicides as being a subject of debate. Some nanoatrazines with various formulations aimed at reducing negative impacts and application dosages have been developed as alternative and effective nanobioherbicides, but paradoxically, the varying degree of their toxicity to non-target organisms is worrisome. Furthermore, in this chapter, we x-ray the pros and cons of some nanobioherbicides on a number of cells, tissues or species such as Bidens pilosa, Amaranthus viridus, Cynodon dactylon, Lolium perenne , maize, pineapple, sorghum, sugar cane, Lactuca sativa, Allium cepa , Human lymphocytes, Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata, Daphnia similis , rat, Caenorhabditis elegans, Enchytraes crypticus , Prochilodus lineatus, Glycine max (soybean), tomatoes, rice, Nicotiana tabacum , pine tree, ectomycorhizal fungi, earthworms, and Pseudomonas chlororaphis among other soil microbes, with the view of keeping the subject matter in perspective for necessary regulatory guidelines by all concerned stakeholders. Understanding the functions and destinations of nanobioherbicides, bioavailability, bioaccumulation, phyto- and or geno-toxicity, as well as the effects of their interactions with the complex but significantly intertwined ecosystems (comprising humans, animals, plants, microbial communities, soil, water, and/or shared environments) are crucial to determining their side effects on non-target organisms.