Radioisotopes and controlled radiation for sustainable agriculture, food security and safety

Nuclear science- and technology has vast applications in the field of nuclear power production, fundamental research, industry, agriculture, food technology and medicine. There are approximately 300 variety of nuclei containing of different components and their isotopes, available in the environment, however all of them are not radioactive. Some elements, such as uranium, thorium, radium and many more are found to be radioactive naturally. However, most radioactive materials are produced artificially in nuclear reactors or by accelerators as per the need of science and technology. The present is focused on a review on radioisotopes and controlled. radiation (gamma ray, X ray and electron beam) which have wide applications to improve food crops, preserve food, determine groundwater resources, sterilize medical supplies, analyse hormones, X-ray pipelines, control industrial processes and study environmental pollution. (author)