Plants obtain nutrients from fertilizers that are conventionally applied to the soil to promote growth.  Due to the low uptake, excess fertilizers need to be applied and a large amount is lost by runoff to the environment and ends up polluting other ecosystems.  Nanoparticle technology offers alternative approaches to alleviate these challenges.  In this presentation, we will describe an aerosol methodology to synthesize nanostructured composites of fertilizers containing the essential elements of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium (N-P-K).  The synthesis methodology is also amenable to add other nutrients (Zn, Ti, Si)  in the single step process.  Results of the efficacy of these fertilizers applied to the soil and by foliar delivery to lettuce plants will be presented. Enhanced growth in all relevant metrics such as root development, plant growth rate and nutritional content of food product was observed.  The plant uptake was 60% of the applied micro and macronutrients, about 30% higher than that for conventional NPK fertilizers. The plant biomass increased by 26% over the conventional fertilizer and 97% over the control where no fertilizer was applied.  The novel methodology is a low-cost method for synthesis of fertilizers for smart and precision agriculture that reduces the amount of fertilizer needed.

Nanoparticle N-P-K fertilizers synthesized by aerosol routes for sustainable and precision agriculture

255th National Meeting (2018)

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