Controlled release of nanofertilizers: a promising approach for efficient delivery of nutrients in plants

ABSTRACT

A high global population generates high food demand, and agricultural crop yield plays an important role in meeting this food demand. Farmers rely heavily on fertilizers to increase crop output. However, the overutilization of fertilizers has drastically reduced soil quality, resulting in decreased agricultural productivity. It also has a detrimental impact on the environment through soil runoff and thus accumulates in water bodies, etc. Controlled-release nano-fertilizer (CRNF) systems can be more efficient in overcoming this problem. CRNF has potential value in providing a beneficial advantage to agricultural productivity by providing a controlled release of nutrients and high nutrient utilization efficiency. Therefore, considering the future scope of research in CRNF, this review summarizes the different CRNF systems utilized for the efficient delivery of nutrients. It also highlights the different release strategies of CRNFs, release mechanism models, mathematical models, kinetic mechanisms, nanomaterials used in CRNF uptake and translocation of fertilizer in plants, and areas related to future research have also been discussed in this review.

KEYWORDS:

• Controlled release fertilizer
• nano-fertilizers
• sustainable agriculture
• Release mechanism
• Kinetic study
• Nutrient delivery

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Director, National Centre for Nanosciences and Nanotechnology for his generous support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported that there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.