## 8 Future of Nanotechnology in Plant Improvement  
Sustainable agriculture, food availability and nutrient security are among the key sustainable development goals of the century. It is therefore imperative to harness the advantages of nanotechnology in achieving the feat by improving the nutrient availability of plants and minimizing their losses on agricultural soils. Many processes occur in the ecosystem during plant production and subsequent consumption of the food and their digestion. During these processes, whatever is added to the soil to improve their production and nutrient enhancement may translate to the crop harvested and also be extended to the nutritional level in organisms afterwards. The knowledge of this phenomenon, therefore, sensitizes the new technologies of using nanomaterials in soil improvement and crop production. Nanochemicals, by the virtue of their quantum sizes and surface area, have improved properties and interesting applications. However, they may also have some toxic effects on the environment when applied as fertilizers, pesticides, nanodelivery tools, food packaging, etc. Figure 3 points out the possible beneficial nanoparticles and their demerits if not properly used.  
The argument now is: Do the pros outweigh the cons? The answer is obviously \"yes\", as there are new developments towards using eco-friendly materials for more acceptable nanoagriculture. Moreover, plants may absorb the required materials and leave the rest in the soil. However, it is not clear whether the toxic materials are absorbed or become non-toxic, and, regardless, the toxic component would still be part of the ecosystem. To clear all doubts and apply the tenets of nanotechnology towards sustainable agriculture and green chemistry, there is a drift from the use of toxic chemicals in synthesis of nanomaterials to the use of biological organisms. These biological organisms have special functional groups that affect the transformation of materials into their nanoforms and also possess capping and stabilizing effects.  
The merit of this novel technology towards agriculture is that there is reclamation of lost nutrients in the soil; herb and pest control using green nanochemicals; supply of macro- and micronutrients for proper plant development; nutrient absorption; security in the food crops; nanofood and nutrient delivery; food packaging; etc. It therefore entails an overall development of the agricultural sector starting from the field to the wellbeing of individuals or organisms that feed on the crops. This is a future technology to be embraced in all ramifications. It is gaining serious attention already, but there is still much work to be done.  
Apart from crop improvement, another agricultural area of application of this smart technology is in the use of nanobarcodes of gold and silver stripes in crop and food packaging, which reveals all the information about the product. This is important due to the people's fear of using nanoproducts.  
In biosensing, graphene oxide has been applied in the enhanced detection of aflat in food materials [145]. [PERSON] et al [146] immobilized hemoglobin with silica coated gold nanorods, which act as biosensor. The applications of nanomaterials in biosensing are relatively new and, in agriculture,the activities are more beneficial before and after crop planting or in the food. Further attempts to develop the application of nanocomposites have led to increased hydrophilicity of synthesized gelatin-gold-single-walled nanotubes with biocompatible surface that not only could be applied in sensing but could also improve nutrient absorption by plant cell and lead to excellent growth [147].