ABSTRACT
Abiotic stress is a significant problem that negatively impacts crop productivity and yields worldwide. The extreme variation in temperature, drought, salinity, flooding, and heavy metals contamination accelerates the genesis of various reactive oxygen species. The generated ROS causes membrane damage and adversely disturbs the various processes in plants, such as protein folding, impeding nutrient uptake, resulting in a nutritional imbalance in the plant, and eventually reducing crop yield. The utilization of inorganic nanomaterials (NMs) is one of the various approaches employed to reduce stress. Among the inorganic nanomaterials, both metal and metal oxide-based nanomaterials are widely used in agriculture, especially for stress mitigation. The dose and duration of exposure to these nanomaterials alter their effect on plants as these NMs may act as signaling molecules that further results in the expression of various stress-associated genes. By virtue of what the NMs are mitigating abiotic stress inside the plant tissues still needs further research investigations. This will also be useful to identify the most proficient NM capable of eliciting durable defense against the abiotic stress challenges as aided by a greater comprehension of the mechanisms. Against this backdrop, this manuscript attempts to explain the role of various inorganic nanomaterials in imparting abiotic stress tolerance in crop plants.
