Wastewater is one of the major concerns for agriculture, and the composition of wastewater depends on its origin. Generally, industrial wastewater consists of azo dyes and heavy metals that contaminate the food chain. In this study, nickel oxide nanoparticles (NiO-NPs) were biosynthesized from Shewnella spp. and characterized by UV–visible spectroscopy (UV–vis), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Azo dye decolorization indicated that NiO-NPs decolorize methylene blue (MB) (82.36%), Congo red (CR) (93.57%), malachite green (MCG) (91.05%), reactive black 5(RB5) (55.17%), reactive red-II(RR-II) (55.45%), and direct blue-I(DB-I) (59.94%) at a dye concentration of 25 mg L⁻¹ after 4 h of sunlight exposure. Additionally, the rate of decolorization was also examined for a 50 mg L⁻¹ concentration of dye. In order to investigate the photocatalytic potential of NiO-NPs, different dyes were also subjected to static and shaking conditions for dye decolorization. The treatment of industrial wastewater with NiO-NPs showed a significant reduction in pH from 8.5 to 6.1, EC (48.38%), chemical oxygen demand (49.24%), total dissolved solids (67.05%), sulfates (52.5%), and phosphates (49.49%). The results of this study indicated that biosynthesized NiO-NPs are an attractive choice for azo dye degradation and industrial wastewater treatment, and they can help save the depleted natural resources of water for agricultural purposes.

Maize (Zea mays L.), an important crop used for animal feed and human consumption, is currently threatened by water shortage. Recently, the usage of nanomaterials has attracted worldwide attention due to their applications in various fields. This research aimed to evaluate the comparative efficacy of different metal oxide nanoparticles for mitigating drought stress in maize. Iron oxide, manganese oxide, and copper nanoparticles were biosynthesized from the leaf extract of Conocarpus erectus L. and characterized via UV-Vis, XRD, FTIR, and SEM. The synthesized nanomaterials were initially optimized at different concentrations (0, 25, 50, 75, and 100 ppm). The optimized doses of each nanoparticle were then applied to maize plants under different drought stress levels (50% FC, 75% FC, and 100% FC). Compared to the control, the application of nanomaterials significantly improved the growth parameters of the maize by 30% at 50% FC, 27% at 75% FC, and 26% at 100% FC. The chlorophyll content also improved significantly at different levels of drought stress by 35%, 32%, and 29% as compared to the control, respectively. The antioxidants (CAT, POD, SOD, and APX) also improved significantly at different levels of drought by 37%, 34%, and 31%, as compared to control, respectively. Moreover, the use of nanoparticles resulted in a significant decrease in cellular oxidative stress (MDA, H2O2) parameters by 23% at 50%FC, 26% at 75% FC, and 27% at 100% FC. Biosynthesized FeO NPs, MnO NPs, and Cu NPs have demonstrated significant potential in mitigating drought stress in maize, suggesting a promising approach to enhance crop performance under water-limited conditions. Further research is recommended to explore the long-term impacts and practical applications of these findings in sustainable agriculture.

Cereals are an important source of nutrients for animals. Several diseases cause severe yield loss in cereal crops. Bacterial diseases result in varying yield losses across cereals: Wheat (5-40%), maize (15-98.9%), rice (20-70%), pearl millet (3-35%), and oats (15-49%). Diseases may be bacterial diseases, fungal or viral. Bacterial diseases are traditionally treated by pesticides. Chemically synthesized pesticides are toxic and hazardous to the environment. Nanotechnology is emerging and novel field for agriculture, especially in plant pathology as a strong antimicrobial agent. Nanoparticles have been synthesized in various ways i.e., biological, physical, and chemical methods. Chemical and physical methods of nanoparticles are costly and toxic to the environment. The biological method for the synthesis of nanoparticles is eco-friendly and economical. Microorganisms or plant extracts are used for metal nanoparticle synthesis. The application of nanoparticles in agriculture has a wide scope and it can bring nano-revolution. This review summarizes the antibacterial activity of biosynthesized metal nanoparticles and their role in bacterial disease management of cereals.

Drought stress severely affects soybean ( Glycine max L.) growth and productivity by disrupting physiological and metabolic processes. This study evaluated the potential of biogenic iron oxide nanoparticles green synthesised using Pistacia khinjuk L. leaf extract to improve soybean tolerance to water deficit. The iron oxide nanoparticles were characterised using ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy and X‐ray diffraction. The nanoparticles were applied to soil at concentrations of 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100 ppm under well‐watered conditions at 100% pot capacity and drought‐stressed conditions at 70% pot capacity. Drought stress reduced germination by 22.6%, plant growth by 18.7%–25.0%, and chlorophyll content by 20.5%. Meanwhile, soil application of iron oxide nanoparticles, particularly at 75–100 ppm, improved germination, plant growth and photosynthetic pigment content. Nanoparticle treatments also enhanced enzymatic and non‐enzymatic antioxidant defences and reduced malondialdehyde accumulation, hydrogen peroxide content and electrolyte leakage by up to 49.8%, 43.2%, and 46.7%, respectively. Net photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, relative water content, plant iron accumulation, soil microbial biomass carbon and dehydrogenase activity were also improved. Multivariate analyses indicated strong positive relationships among antioxidant activity, water status, photosynthetic performance and plant growth, whereas oxidative damage indicators were negatively associated with these traits. Overall, soil‐applied biogenic iron oxide nanoparticles improved soybean physiological resilience under controlled drought conditions. However, field‐scale validation and long‐term environmental assessment are required before practical agricultural application.