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Top1. Introduction
Plants are often attacked by various pathogens such as fungi, bacteria, viruses, etc. which results in great losses to farmers (Kodam, 1983; Snowdon, 1990; Rajam, 1992; Lolpuri, 2002; Esfahani, 2006). Several conventional methods have been used for the control of these pathogens and each of these methods have one or other limitations. Some of these methods such as use of pesticides cause hazardous effect on the environment and human health. Therefore, uses of nanoparticles of have been considered alternate, ecofriendly and cost effective management strategy for the control of pathogenic microbes (Patolsky et al., 2006; Kim et al., 2009; Kumar & Yadev, 2009; Aruoja et al., 2009; Kim et al., 2012). These nanoparticles have a great potential in the management of plant diseases as compared to synthetic fungicides (Park et al., 2006). Silver for instance displays multiple modes of inhibitory action against microorganisms (Clement et al., 1994), therefore, it may be used with relative safety for control of various plant pathogens, compared to synthetic fungicides (Park et al., 2006).
Changes in agricultural technology have been a major factor shaping modern agriculture. Among the latest line of technological innovations, nanotechnology occupies a prominent position in transforming agriculture and food production. The development of nanodevices and nanomaterials could open up novel applications in plant biotechnology and agriculture (Scrinis & Lyons, 2007). Currently, the main thrust of research in nanotechnology focuses on applications in the field of electronics (Feiner, 2006), energy (Chen, 2007), medicine and life sciences (Caruthers et al., 2007). Experiences gained from these fields facilitate the development of genetically modified crops, plant protecting chemicals and precision farming techniques. Besides these, plants and/or their extracts provide a biological synthesis route of several metallic nanoparticles which is more ecofriendly and allows a controlled synthesis with well defined size and shape (Sharma et al., 2009; Goodsell, 2004). The utilization of microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, herbal extracts, sand yeasts and now fungi in the syntheses of nanoparticles is a relatively recent activity. Many fungi have been used to biosynthesize and grow nanoparticles or to reduce the activity of toxic metallic ions to non-toxic metallic ions (Mehra & Wing, 1991; Kowshik et al., 2000; Watson et al., 2000; Klittich & Leslie, 1988; Mukherjee et al., 2002; Bhainsa & D'Souza, 2006). Agriculture and food system security, novel delivery systems for disease treatment such as use of nanoparticles are effective and safe control measures as compared to other control measures such as use of pesticides and agrochemical which has hazardous effect on environment (Jo & Kim, 2009; Park et al., 2006; Min et al., 2009).