A Review of Nano Fertilizers and Their Use and Functions in Soil

Abstract

With the global upsurge in population and rapid urbanization, farmers across the globe are left with the daunting task of feeding more mouths every year from agricultural fields which are dwindling correspondingly. Satellite images show that the Earth is rapidly running out of fertile land and that food production will soon be unable to keep up with the world's burgeoning population. The production level of food grains has become a subject of concern as it has been showing a downward trend over the last decade. With natural resources getting exhausted, it is through agriculture that we can envisage a self sustainable world. With limited availability of land and water resources, growth in agriculture can be achieved only by increasing productivity through an effective use of modern technology. Nanotechnology possesses the potential to augment agricultural productivity through genetic improvement of plants and animals along with cellular level delivery of genes and drug molecules to specific sites in plants and animals. The potential is increasing with suitable techniques and sensors being identified for precision agriculture, natural resource management, efficient delivery systems for agrochemicals such as fertilizers and pesticides, food processing, packaging and other areas like monitoring agricultural and food system security. Here we review the contribution of nanotechnology technique on development of nano fertilizer and its uses and function in soil.