Chitosan-based nano-enabled functional fertilizer

Kinjal Mondal* and Vinod Saharan

Nano Research Facility Laboratory, Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur-313001 (Raj.), India

Abstract:
Currently, improper application of commercially available chemical fertilizers has created strong barriers to the health of soil as well as entire ecosystem. To feed the expanding population under ever-changing environment, maintaining agriculture output is becoming crucial day by day. Therefore, to reduce the use of inefficient traditional chemical fertilizers, modern agriculture requires novel techniques. In this context, nano enabled slow-release fertilizers may be the best option for nutritional security as well as environmental sustainability. Since few years back, the use of nanomaterials (NMs) in terms of next-generation fertilizers especially the biopolymer-based formulations at optimal dose have been appreciated to increase the nutrient utilization efficiency through a more controlled, and slower nutrient release phenomenon that could better match the sustained nutrient needs of crops across the time. In this regard, chitosan being biocompatible and biodegradable in nature has mostly been studied for crop protection and growth in agriculture for last ten years. Chitosan is a linear biopolymer of randomly distributed β-(1→4)-linked D-glucosamine (deacetylated unit) and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (acetylated unit), derived from the biowaste of seafood industry. It acts as an abundant nutrient source of C (54.4–47.9 wt%), O (42.3–30.19 wt%), N (7.6–5.8 wt%), and P (6.1–3.4 wt%) to plants. In addition, chitosan possesses enough functional groups which can be used to functionalize with active ingredients (AIs). Chitosan-based functional fertilizer has piqued the invention of next-generation agrochemicals to ennoble modern agriculture.

Keywords: Functional fertilizer, slow-release fertilizer, nanomaterials, chitosan, active ingredient

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