Nanofertilizer use for sustainable agriculture: Advantages and limitations.

Nutrient fertilization plays a critical role in maintaining soil fertility and improving crop productivity and quality. Precise nutrient management of horticultural crops is a major challenge worldwide as it relies predominantly on chemical fertilizers. Traditional fertilizers are not only costly for the producer, but may be harmful to humans and the environment. This has led to the search for environmentally friendly fertilizers, particularly those with high nutrient-use efficiency, and nanotechnology is emerging as a promising alternative. Nanofertilizers offer benefits in nutrition management through their strong potential to increase nutrient use efficiency. Nutrients, either applied alone or in combination, are bound to nano-dimensional adsorbents, which release nutrients very slowly as compared to conventional fertilizers. This approach not only increases nutrient-use efficiency, but also minimizes nutrient leaching into ground water. Furthermore, nanofertilizers may also be used for enhancing abiotic stress tolerance and used in combination with microorganisms (the so-called nanobiofertilizers) provide great additional benefits. However, although the benefits of nanofertilizers are undoubtedly opening new approaches towards sustainable agriculture, their limitations should also be carefully considered before market implementation. In particular, the extensive release of nanomaterials into the environment and the food chain may pose a risk to human health. In conclusion, although nanofertilizers use in agriculture is offering great opportunities to improve plant nutrition and stress tolerance to achieve higher yields in a frame of climate change, not all nanomaterials will be equally safe for all applications. The risks of nanofertilizers should be carefully examined before use, and further biotechnological advances are required for a correct and safe application of nanomaterials in agriculture.

Zulfiqar F ，Navarro M ，Ashraf M ，Akram NA ，Munné-Bosch S ... -  《-》

Facile synthesis of nanomaterials as nanofertilizers: a novel way for sustainable crop production.

Nutrient fertilization plays a major role in improving crop productivity and maintaining soil fertility. In the last few decades, the productivity of current agricultural practices highly depends on the use of chemical fertilizers. Major drawback of traditional fertilizers is their low crop nutrient use efficiency and high loss into water. Nanomaterial in agriculture is a multipurpose tool for increasing growth, development, and yield of plants. Nanotechnology facilitates the amplifying of agriculture production by reducing relevant losses and improving the input efficiency. Nanotechnology has emerged as an attractive field of research and has various agriculture applications, especially the use of nano-agrochemicals to increase nutrient use efficiency and agricultural yield. Nanofertilizers are more effective as compared to chemical fertilizers due to their cost-efficient, eco-friendly, non-toxic, and more stable in nature. Overall, this chapter focuses on synthesis of nanofertilizers through physical, chemical, and biological methods. This chapter will also explore the use of nano-enabled fertilizers to enhance the nutrient use efficiency for sustainable crop production, and global food safety.

Basit F ，Asghar S ，Ahmed T ，Ijaz U ，Noman M ，Hu J ，Liang X ，Guan Y ... -  《-》

A comprehensive overview of nanotechnology in sustainable agriculture.

Plant nutrition is crucial in crop productivity and providing food security to the ever-expanding population. Application of chemical/biological fertilizers and pesticides are the mainstays for any agricultural economy. However, there are unintended consequences of using chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The environment and ecological balance are adversely affected by their usage. Biofertilizers and biopesticides counter some undesired environmental effects of chemical fertilizers/pesticides; despite some drawbacks associated with their use. The recent developments in nanotechnology offer promise toward sustainable agriculture. Sustainable agriculture involves addressing the concerns about agriculture as well as the environment. This review briefs about important nanomaterials used in agriculture as nanofertilizers, nanopesticides, and a combination called nanobiofertilizers. Both nanofertilizers and nanopesticides enable slow and sustained release besides their eco-friendly nature. They can be tailored to the specific needs of to crop. Nanofertilizers also offer greater stress tolerance and, therefore, are of considerable value in the era of climate change. Furthermore, nanofertilizers/nanopesticides are applied in minute amounts, reducing transportation costs associated and thus positively affecting the economy. Their uses extend beyond such as if nanoparticles (NPs) are used at high concentrations; they affect plant pathogens adversely. Polymer-based biodegradable nanofertilizers and nanopesticides offer various benefits. There is also a dark side to the use of nanomaterials in agriculture. Nanotechnology often involves the use of metal/metal oxide nanoparticles, which might get access to human bodies leading to their accumulation through bio-magnification. Although their effects on human health are not known, NPs may reach toxic concentrations in soil and runoff into rivers, and other water bodies with their removal to become a huge economic burden. Nevertheless, a risk-benefit analysis of nanoformulations must be ensured before their application in sustainable agriculture.

Arora S ，Murmu G ，Mukherjee K ，Saha S ，Maity D ... -  《-》

Nanotechnology advances for sustainable agriculture: current knowledge and prospects in plant growth modulation and nutrition.

Advances in nanotechnology make it an important tool for improving agricultural production. Strong evidence supports the role of nanomaterials as nutrients or nanocarriers for the controlled release of fertilizers to improve plant growth. Scientific research shows that nanotechnology applied in plant sciences is smart technology. Excessive application of mineral fertilizers has produced a harmful impact on the ecosystem. Furthermore, the projected increase in the human population by 2050 has led to the search for alternatives to ensure food security. Nanotechnology is a promising strategy to enhance crop productivity while minimizing fertilizer inputs. Nanofertilizers can contribute to the slow and sustainable release of nutrients to improve the efficiency of nutrient use in plants. Nanomaterial properties (i.e., size, morphology and charge) and plant physiology are crucial factors that influence the impact on plant growth. An important body of scientific research highlights the role of carbon nanomaterials, metal nanoparticles and metal oxide nanoparticles to improve plant development through the modulation of physiological and metabolic processes. Modulating nutrient concentrations, photosynthesis processes and antioxidant enzyme activities have led to increases in shoot length, root development, photosynthetic pigments and fruit yield. In parallel, nanocarriers (nanoclays, nanoparticles of hydroxyapatite, mesoporous silica and chitosan) have been shown to be an important tool for the controlled and sustainable release of conventional fertilizers to improve plant nutrition; however, the technical advances in nanofertilizers need to be accompanied by modernization of the regulations and legal frameworks to allow wider commercialization of these elements. Nanofertilizers are a promising strategy to improve plant development and nutrition, but their application in sustainable agriculture remains a great challenge. The present review summarizes the current advance of research into nanofertilizers, and their future prospects.

Fincheira P ，Tortella G ，Seabra AB ，Quiroz A ，Diez MC ，Rubilar O ... -  《-》

Small molecule, big impacts: Nano-nutrients for sustainable agriculture and food security.

Human existence and the long-term viability of society depend on agriculture. Overuse of synthetic fertilizers results in increased contamination of the land, water, and atmosphere as well as financial constraints. In today's modern agriculture, environmentally friendly technology is becoming more and more significant as a substitute for conventional fertilizers and chemical pesticides. Using nanotechnology, agricultural output can be improved in terms of quality, biological support, financial stability, and environmental safety. There is a lot of promise for the sustainable application of nano-fertilizers in crop productivity and soil fertility, with little or no negative environmental effects. In this context, the present review provided an overview of the benefits of using nanofertilizers, its application and types. Mechanistic approach for increasing soil fertility and yield via nanofertilizers also described in detail. We concluded this article to compare the advantages of nanofertilizers over chemicals and nano-chemicals. Nonetheless, additional investigation is required to comprehend the effects and possible hazards of nanomaterials in the food production chain.

Faizan M ，Singh A ，Eren A ，Sultan H ，Sharma M ，Djalovic I ，Trivan G ... -  《-》