Plant Viral Disease Management Based on Green Nanotechnology

Phytoviruses are extremely harmful to plants and cause substantial losses to agriculture because of their diverse genomes, fast and dynamic evolution, and lack of efficient management strategies. Despite a growing body of evidence showing synthetic nanomaterials are effective in treating a range of plant diseases, relatively little is known about their effects on phytoviruses. In this chapter, the newly developed topic of “Nanophytovirology” as a possible therapeutic strategy for diseases caused by plant viruses is discussed. Nanoparticles (NPs) have unique physiochemical characteristics that allow them to interact in a number of favorable and targeted ways with viruses, their vectors, and host plants. Specifically, this chapter investigates the antiviral characteristics of NPs and outlines plausible processes underlying interactions between NPs and plant viruses. The chapter also examines the research, difficulties, and knowledge gaps that must be filled before a multidisciplinary, nanotechnology-based strategy for the prompt detection, management, and prevention of viral disease.