Research Projects

Given the predicted population growth, global rice production must increase by 40% in the next 20 years. This is a difficult task to achieve as the main hindrance is abiotic stressors such as salinity, drought, and UV-B radiations. In this scenario, nano-priming has proven to be a beneficial approach that can improve plants stress tolerance and performance in harsh conditions. Nano-priming is a modern approach, where nanomaterials are designed to interact with molecules at the cellular level. g-C₃N₄ is one such nanostructured material that could potentially be an excellent priming agent for plants that is attributed to its non-toxicity, metal-free/organic nature and ease of fabrication using earth abundant precursors suitable for large scale production. Moreover, coupling nano-metals coupled with g-C₃N₄ will enable to create a sustainable and cost-effective technique for nano priming that can aid the plants to survive and perform well under a wide range of abiotic stress conditions.