부산대학교 도서관

Anthropogenic agricultural and industrial activities resulted in the global degradation of large areas, whereby the overuse of agrochemicals due to low nutrient use efficiency by crops since the mid-twentieth century contributed to a pronounced decline in agricultural soil fertility, resulting in deficiency of some essential nutrients needed for healthy growth and development of crops. With the boom of nanotechnologies over the last 20 years, the benefits of using nanosized fertilizers come to the fore over conventional ones, as they can slow the release of nutrients, ensure controlled release of nutrients, and lower doses of active ingredients that are sufficient to achieve comparable or better biological effects than the respective bulk conventional fertilizers. Lower environmental contamination during the application of nanosized fertilizers as well as biofortification of consumable plant organs and grains with some essential nutrients enables the production of safe and healthy food. This chapter presents an up-to-date overview of nanoscale formulations of essential macronutrients (N, P, K, Ca, Mg, and S) and micronutrients (Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, B, Mo, and Ni) as well as nonessential micronutrients (Co, Si, and Se) needed for plants, which are used as fertilizers. Application of nanostructured materials serving as nutrient carriers such as hydroxyapatite and nanoclays, and polymeric materials used for coating of nanosized nutrients, enabling slow and controlled release of nutrients, is discussed as well. The beneficial impact of nanofertilizers on crop yield and nutritional quality, including the respective mode of action, is emphasized, together with the ability of nanofertilizers to alleviate the adverse effects of both abiotic and biotic stresses on crops.