ABSTRACT
Phytoviruses are dangerous plant pathogens that cause enormous agricultural losses as a result of their genetic diversity, fast and dynamic development, and overall inadequacy of alternative control methods. Phytovirus diseases need different management strategies compared with bacterial or fungal diseases. Attempts to directly influence or inactivate the pathogen have shown little or no success, leaving disease prevention as the sole viable alternative in most cases. Novel ways for managing viral infections in plants have been researched due to advances in technology, including nanotechnology. While an increasing number of studies demonstrate the usefulness of manufactured nanomaterials in treating a variety of plant infections, relatively little research on phytoviruses has been conducted. The development of nanophytovirology is discussed in this chapter as a possible management strategy for plant viral infections.
Moreover, this chapter elucidates how nanotechnology may be used to manage plant viruses, both directly and indirectly through triggering plant defense systems. Nanomaterials may interact with viruses, host plants, and vectors in several particular and helpful ways because of their distinctive physiochemical features. This chapter also reviews the state of the art for developing novel chemical formulations, employing nanotechnology to control insect vectors and therefore limit viral transmission. We address the antiviral potential of nanomaterials by describing the possible methods through which they interact with plants and viruses. We highlight the sparse literature, as well as the obstacles and research gaps that should be addressed to establish a nanotechnology-based, interdisciplinary strategy for the early treatment and prevention of viral infections. Finally, this chapter explains the possibility of using nanotechnology to transport dsRNA under environmental circumstances and activate RNAi (RNA interference) in plants to guard against viral infection.
