Overview on Recent Developments in the Design, Application, and Impacts of Nanofertilizers in Agriculture

Abstract

Nutrient management is always a great concern for better crop production. The optimized use of nutrients plays a key role in sustainable crop production, which is a major global challenge as it depends mainly on synthetic fertilizers. A novel fertilizer approach is required that can boost agricultural system production while being more ecologically friendly than synthetic fertilizers. As nanotechnology has left no field untouched, including agriculture, by its scientific innovations. The use of nanofertilizers in agriculture is in the early stage of development, but they appear to have significant potential in different ways, such as increased nutrient-use efficiency, the slow release of nutrients to prevent nutrient loss, targeted delivery, improved abiotic stress tolerance, etc. This review summarizes the current knowledge on various developments in the design and formulation of nanoparticles used as nanofertilizers, their types, their mode of application, and their potential impacts on agricultural crops. The main emphasis is given on the potential benefits of nanofertilizers, and we highlight the current limitations and future challenges related to the wide-scale application before field applications. In particular, the unprecedent release of these nanomaterials into the environment may jeopardize human health and the ecosystem. As the green revolution has occurred, the production of food grains has increased at the cost of the disproportionate use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, which have severely damaged our ecosystem. We need to make sure that the use of these nanofertilizers reduces environmental damage, rather than increasing it. Therefore, future studies should also check the environmental risks associated with these nanofertilizers, if there are any; moreover, it should focus on green manufactured and biosynthesized nanofertilizers, as well as their safety, bioavailability, and toxicity issues, to safeguard their application for sustainable agriculture environments.

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

“…Copper has the ability to promote the photochemistry of photosystem II, which might result in decreased CO 2 uptake in plant cells [ 59 ]. Nanofertilizers can increase efficiency of the photosynthetic pigments for respiratory systems and plant photosynthesis through their influence on several coenzymes, proteins, vitamins, and purines in plants [ 60 ]. These benefits may explain why nanofertilizers (especially the biological ones) minimize nutrient losses and their leaching into groundwater by increasing their bioavailability to plants.…”

Nanofertilizers: The Next Generation of Agrochemicals for Long-Term Impact on Sustainability in Farming Systems

“…Hence, optimization of the dose quantity of different NFs for different plants is very critical. A systematic and in-depth analysis concerning the possible health impacts, clearance, and safe disposal of NMs can lead to enhancements in the designing of additional applications of nanofertilizers [135].…”

Exploring Sustainable Agriculture with Nitrogen-Fixing Cyanobacteria and Nanotechnology

“…The primary goals of using metal nanoparticles in agriculture are to increase agricultural yield as well as plant growth and nutrient uptake. These nanoparticles can have molecular interactions with plant systems, altering cellular functions and favorably affecting plant metabolism [ 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 ]. The targeted distribution of nutrients, hormones, and agrochemicals to plants is made possible by the role of metal nanoparticles as nanocarriers, which optimizes resource use and minimizes environmental effects [ 40 , 41 ].…”