Use of Nanotechnology in Horticulture: A Review

The development of nanotechnology creates an excellent opportunity to address complex technical issues of food supply chain. Failure to embrace nanotechnology will deny the horticultural sector an opportunity to capitalize on improved product visibility, food safety, quality and security and associated economic benefits. Agricultural and food supply chain management is complex due to the diverse characteristics of agricultural products. There are numerous types of horticultural crops and products, many of which are perishable. In addition, the degree of standardization of some kinds of fruit products and their management is still low. In this regard, the potential application of nanotechnology to the horticulture is reviewed. Investigation confirms that incremental application of nanotechnology in the horticulture, first in the fruit packaging and later in other areas such as tracking, tracing, storage and distribution, is occurring. Currently, most nanotechnology applications in the agricultural supply chain are concentrated in packaging, mainly in the improvement of packaging materials for product security, quality and safety. From the point of view of the supply chain, the logical extension is the application of intelligent packaging based on nano-sensors with a view to promoting information and management across all elements of an agricultural supply chain. Compared with traditional sensors and their shortcomings, nano-sensors have several advantageous properties, such as high sensitivity and selectivity, near real-time detection, low cost and portability. However, the economics of nanotechnology application in the agricultural supply chain is no more different to the application of other new technologies.