Agricultural innovation through metal-organic frameworks: Exploring fundamentals and applications - Recent advances...

Globally crop production suffers significant loss due to climatic change, phytopathogens, insect and pest attack and soil nutritional deficiency. Agrochemicals have become the driving force in modern agriculture to improve the crop productivity by promoting plant growth and eradicating pest, ensuring food security to meet the global food demand due to increased population growth. Excessive use of synthetic agrochemicals suffers certain limitations such as bioaccumulation, contamination, development of pest resistances and alteration in soil beneficial microbial community. With the advent of nanotechnology, metal organic framework has emerged as innovative approach and promising material in agroindustry for the controlled release of fertilizer and pesticides. Tunable porous nature, crystallinity, functionable cavities, Stimuli responsive release, eco-friendly nature, composition makes it a suitable candidate for the precise delivery of nutrients and growth regulators without the effects of the biotic and abiotic stress factors. The characteristics of designed MOFs offers a promising approach for developing remarkably distinctive results in agricultural research with respect to prospects like biocompatibility and biodegradability leading to enveloping the efficiency of traditional agricultural system. This review explores the latest progress in MOFs nanoparticles applied to contemporary agriculture, where they have utilized various forms of nanotechnology-based approaches such as nano-based fertilizers, pesticides, and plant growth promoters. Finally, the future challenges that MOFs face in agrotechnology's were proposed to promote the development of sustainable agriculture practices.