The worldwide agricultural enterprise is facing immense pressure to intensify to feed the world’s increasing population while the resources are dwindling. Fertilizers which are deemed as indispensable inputs for food, fodder, and fuel production now also represent the dark side of the intensive food production system. With most crop production systems focused on increasing the quantity of produce, indiscriminate use of fertilizers has created havoc for the environment and damaged the fiber of the biogeosphere. Deteriorated nutritional quality of food and contribution to impaired ecosystem services are the major limiting factors in the further growth of the fertilizer sector. Nanotechnology in agriculture has come up as a better and seemingly sustainable solution to meet production targets as well as maintaining the environmental quality by use of less quantity of raw materials and active ingredients, increased nutrient use-efficiency by plants, and decreased environmental losses of nutrients. However, the use of nanofertilizers has so far been limited largely to controlled environments of laboratories, greenhouses, and institutional research experiments; production and availability on large scale are still lagging yet catching up fast. Despite perceivable advantages, the use of nanofertilizers is many times debated for adoption at a large scale. The scenario is gradually changing, worldwide, towards the use of nanofertilizers, especially macronutrients like nitrogen (e.g. market release of nano-urea to replace conventional urea in South Asia), to arrest environmental degradation and uphold vital ecosystem services which are in critical condition. This review offers a discussion on the purpose with which the nanofertilizers took shape, the benefits which can be achieved, and the challenges which nanofertilizers face for further development and real-world use, substantiated with the significant pieces of scientific evidence available so far.Graphical Abstract

Boron deficiency significantly limits potato yield and quality in alkaline soils. This study investigated the impact of potassium and boron applications on potato yield and quality in boron-deficient alkaline soils, crucial aspects of sustainable potato farming. We evaluated the effects of soil and foliar applications of various potassium (silicate, alginate, citrate, sulfate) and nano-boron sources on potato growth, yield, and tuber quality. Two field trials, conducted over two growing seasons, demonstrated that foliar application of potassium silicate significantly enhanced potato yield and quality parameters, including tuber number, total yield, boron content, vitamin C content, and specific gravity. Foliar nano-boron application also significantly improved growth and yield compared to the control and soil-applied boron. The combination of foliar potassium silicate and nano-boron yielded the most superior results. Potassium silicate outperformed other potassium sources. These findings highlight the importance of foliar application for optimizing potassium fertilization and mitigating boron deficiency, promoting agricultural sustainability in alkaline soil conditions characteristic of many potato farming regions. Further research could explore optimal application methods and dosages for maximizing the synergistic effects of these nutrients.

Two field experiments were conducted at the experimental farm of the Central Laboratory for Agricultural Climate (CLAC), Agricultural Research Center, Giza, Egypt, during 2017 and 2018 seasons, to evaluate the effects of compost and organic extracts on growth and yield of sweet corn (Misthi F1 Hybrid) and microbial populations in rhizosphere. Extracts of compost, vermicompost and chicken manure with adding half dose of compost were compared to full dose of compost and mineral fertilizers. The populations of total bacteria, fungi and phosphate solublizing bacteria were estimated. Results showed that applying half dose of compost with adding vermicompost (50% C + VEx) extract gave the highest growth, yield and ear properties of sweet corn without any significant differences compared to mineral fertilizer treatment. Applying half dose of compost with adding extract of compost or chicken manure decreased growth, yield and ear properties of sweet corn compared to mineral fertilizer. 50% C + ChEx recorded the highest total bacterial counts. The treatments of half dose of compost with adding any organic extracts were superior to full dose of compost (100% C) in all studied traits. This study revealed the possibility of using half dose of compost with adding vermicompost extract for producing satisfactory yield quantity with high quality of sweet corn ears.