Application of Nanomaterials in Management of Fungal Plant Diseases

The use of nanotechnology in plant disease management has been seriously considered by researchers in recent years. Some of these reteaches have shown the antifungal effects of nano zinc oxide on Botrytis cinerea and Penicillium expansum; nano copper oxide on Aspergillus flavus; silver nanocomposite compounds (SiO₂/Ag₂S) on Aspergillus niger; Fe₃O₄/ZnO/AgBr on Fusarium graminearum, F. oxysporum and Botrytis cinerea, and carbon nanomaterials on F. graminearum. Their antifungal mechanisms are including: degradation of lipid and protein, damage to cell membranes, water channels blocking by nanomaterials and loss of spore water and plasmolysis and the inhibition of growth or destruction of fungal hyphae and prevent the sporulation.