Nanoformulation of essential oils for the development of an agricultural biofungicide

• Grant number: 23/10363-5
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Innovative Research in Small Business - PIPE
• Start date: March 01, 2024
• End date: November 30, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Plant Health
• Agreement: SEBRAE-SP
• Principal Investigator: Ferdinando Marcos Lima Silva
• Grantee: Ferdinando Marcos Lima Silva
• CNAE: Fabricação de defensivos agrícolas ; Comércio atacadista de defensivos agrícolas, adubos, fertilizantes e corretivos do solo ; Pesquisa e desenvolvimento experimental em ciências físicas e naturais
• Associated researchers: Leonardo Fernandes Fraceto
• Associated scholarship(s): 24/02470-9 - Nanoformulation of essential oils for the development of an agricultural biofungicide, BP.PIPE

Abstract

Brazil is one of the largest food producers and exporters in the world, favored by the tropical climate that benefits biodiversity and enables the production of a wide variety of crops, allowing it to reach consecutive records of production and productivity. This same climate that favors the cultivation of food provides ideal conditions for the development of weeds, pests and diseases of cultivated plants. For crop protection, the use of large amounts of pesticides (herbicides, insecticides, fungicides and others) is required, which are of great concern in terms of the environment, as many of these compounds can affect life, human health, soil and water quality, among other problems. New technologies that aim to reduce environmental contamination and bring more safety in food production are necessary and urgent. The adoption of bio-inputs for biological control, grew 219% between the 2019/20 and 2021/22 seasons, reaching a total use of 28% of the planted area in Brazil. But most registered biological products are for pest and nematode control, while a low percentage of these products are intended for disease control. Fungicides represent about 30% (in terms of applied product value) of the total pesticide market, but most of these products have problems of resistance to different fungi, which further limits control options. Modern tools for the management of plant diseases, with new sustainable compounds combined with new technologies can help in the integrated management of diseases, such as the use of biological products, with a low impact of contamination on food, humans, and the environment. Therefore, the use of natural products, such as essential oils, combined with modern technologies, such as nanotechnology, can bring great benefits to the integrated management of pests, diseases, and weeds. Nanotechnology offers considerable opportunities for innovative product development, through new formulations that can increase efficacy, protect against premature degradation, and at the same time allow reduction in essential oil concentration for disease management. Nanotechnology is among the innovations that will contribute to the transformation of agriculture, within the concept of Agriculture 4.0, or digital agriculture, which uses the most modern technologies, such as robotics, precision agriculture, internet of things and other innovations aimed at the more efficient use of inputs, reducing labor costs, improving the quality and safety of work, and reducing impacts on the environment. This proposal aims to develop a "green fungicide", through an innovative and sustainable formulation of nanoparticles containing essential oil from aromatic plants, to control diseases in cultivated plants. This is a new compound for the management of fungal resistance, which can replace pesticides and has potential for use in organic agriculture. (AU)