Nanofertilizers: A Smart and Sustainable Attribute to Modern Agriculture

Abstract

The widespread use of fertilizers is a result of the increased global demand for food. The commonly used chemical fertilizers may increase plant growth and output, but they have deleterious effects on the soil, the environment, and even human health. Therefore, nanofertilizers are one of the most promising solutions or substitutes for conventional fertilizers. These engineered materials are composed of nanoparticles containing macro- and micronutrients that are delivered to the plant rhizosphere in a regulated manner. In nanofertilizers, the essential minerals and nutrients (such as N, P, K, Fe, and Mn) are bonded alone or in combination with nano-dimensional adsorbents. This review discusses the development of nanotechnology-based smart and efficient agriculture using nanofertilizers that have higher nutritional management, owing to their ability to increase the nutrient uptake efficiency. Additionally, the synthesis and mechanism of action of the nanofertilizers are discussed, along with the different types of fertilizers that are currently available. Furthermore, sustainable agriculture can be realised by the targeted delivery and controlled release of nutrients through the application of nanoscale active substances. This paper emphasises the successful development and safe application of nanotechnology in agriculture; however, certain basic concerns and existing gaps in research need to be addressed and resolved.

Biological Nanofertilizers to Enhance Growth Potential of Strawberry Seedlings by Boosting Photosynthetic Pigments, Plant Enzymatic Antioxidants, and Nutritional Status

“…The particle sizes of nanofertilizers are less than the pore sizes of leaves and roots, which can enhance the uptake efficiency of soil nutrients [ 76 ]. Nanofertilizers can support agro-food production by protecting cultivated plants and improving crop productivity [ 77 ], for sustainable agriculture [ 78 ], precision agriculture [ 79 ], and improvement of food quality, safety [ 20 ], and nano-farming [ 80 ].…”

“Effect of Organic manure, Bio-fertilizer and Nano-fertilizer on Yield and Economics of different Vegetable crops and soil nutrient status”

“…Furthermore, in response to intensify soil microbial populations such as rhizosphere, nano-fertilizers are able to increase available form of phosphorus and root volume by increasing dehydrogenase activity. As reported [9] that these symbiotic microbes express proteins/genes that are involved in energy coupling by oxidation of the available metals. Provided with NPK or Nano Zinc or other nano-fertilizers helps in maintaining soil quality and structure for regular nutrient biogeochemical cycling by directly acting as cofactors for catalases, superoxide dismutase etc.…”

Biological Nanofertilizer for Horticultural Crops: A Diagrammatic Mini-Review

“…Other physiological, biochemical and antioxidant properties of horticultural crops have been enhanced after application of nanofertilizers (mainly biological ones) such as bionano-Se and -Cu on banana (Shalaby et al 2022a) and tomato (Saffan et al 2022) and bionano-Se on radish (Huang et al 2023). Therefore, the applications of nanotechnology in agriculture, and particularly horticulture, may provide sustainable solutions for many problems facing this sector (Bala et al 2022;Nongbet et al 2022).…”