Application of engineered nanoparticles in tomato production: nutritional enhancement, fruit preservation, and stress resilience.

Engineered nanoparticles improve tomato quality and stress tolerance by enhancing nutrient acquisition, antioxidant defense, and pathogen suppression, with efficacy depending on particle properties, dose, and application conditions. As one of the most important vegetable crops, tomato is cultivated globally for its high productivity and nutritional value. However, its production faces severe limitations due to abiotic and biotic stresses, calling for effective and sustainable mitigation strategies. Engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) have emerged as promising materials to address key challenges in food security. While significant progress has been made in understanding ENP-plant interactions, their specific roles in tomato nutrient fortification and environmental stress resilience remain inadequately explored. This review systematically examines recent advances in the tailored properties of diverse ENPs and their applications in tomato cultivation, including growth promotion, nutritional quality improvement, postharvest preservation, and resistance to environmental stressors. We further identify critical research priorities, such as developing novel synthesis methods to optimize ENP functionality, elucidating their in planta transport and metabolic fate, and establishing standardized field-application protocols. This work provides a comprehensive foundation for advancing nano-enabled tomato production and supports the safe, effective integration of ENPs into sustainable agricultural systems.