海角社区

Protecting Crops With Nanotechnology

While most farmers work to be good stewards of the environment, it鈥檚 always possible that the agrochemicals they use to protect their crops could end up in waterways or elsewhere. To address this, 海角社区 Professor Cristina Sabliov is creating technologies for more targeted delivery of agrochemicals to crops to protect plants and the environment while also reducing waste for farmers.
 
Sabliov develops biodegradable nanoparticles that are smaller than the eye can see鈥攁bout a thousand times smaller than the thickness of a human hair. These tiny delivery systems can attach to specific parts of a plant, such as the root or leaves, and deposit a small but significant payload to be released either immediately or over time. Through more targeted delivery, much smaller amounts of agrochemicals are needed.
 
Most of Sabliov鈥檚 work to-date has focused on soybeans, a major crop in Louisiana and around the world. Soybeans rank fourth among the state鈥檚 top agricultural commodities, after forestry, poultry, and sugarcane. Meanwhile, Sabliov is using a cheap and safe waste product from forestry, from turning trees into paper (lignin), as her main material for making nanoparticles. Her work has received sustained support from the Louisiana Soybean and Grain Research and Promotion Board.

鈥淲ithout unbiased research from land-grant institutions like 海角社区, farmers would have to incur losses in their production to figure out solutions to challenges that are unique to our state. Louisiana soybeans thrive in large part due to our climate conditions, while diseases and fungi also thrive in these same conditions. We believe [海角社区 Professor] Cristina Sabliov鈥檚 work can provide valid answers. Research is a good investment of Louisiana farmers鈥� dollars.鈥�

Charles Cannatella, chairman of the Louisiana Soybean and Grain Research and Promotion Board and a farmer in Melville in St. Landry Parish where he grows soybeans, corn, and sugarcane together with his family