Plant pathogens pose a major threat to global food security, and climate change is expected to worsen these challenges. Current untargeted agrochemical delivery techniques remain highly inefficient and insufficient to deal with the growing pathogen threat. In this work, we develop nanocarriers that target the leaf stomata, which are important entry points for pathogens into the plant apoplast. By optimizing ligand orientation through rational design, we demonstrate stomata-targeting effects across various plant species. These targeted nanocarriers could reduce pathogen colonization by as much as 20 times compared to untargeted nanocarriers, demonstrating the potential of targeted nanoparticle delivery to bolster crop defense. Biocompatibility assessments reveal that these nanocarriers are safe for plants, preserving stomatal function and photosynthetic efficiency. This approach offers a promising design principle for targeted delivery in plant systems that would supplement the plant nanobiotechnology toolkit for sustainable agriculture.
