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Plant Science Today (PST)

Review Articles

Vol. 13 No. sp2 (2026): Recent Advances in Agriculture

Unveiling the potential of nano fertilisers: A comprehensive review on their superiority over conventional systems

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.12149
Submitted
7 October 2025
Published
19-05-2026

Abstract

The widespread use of conventional urea fertilisers supports global food security while causing significant environmental externalities: groundwater nitrate surges endanger drinkable supplies, nitrate leaching surpasses 50 % of applied nitrogen, causing eutrophication and N2O emissions contribute 300 Tg CO2-equivalents annually to global warming. Nitrogen consumption rises as arable land is expected to decrease by 1.5 % every 10 years due to a population of 9.7 billion by 2050, exacerbating these challenges and highlighting the need for energy-smart alternatives. This approach is challenged by nano fertilisers, which are designed at scales of 1–100 nm and have targeted delivery and slow-release kinetics. Through improved stomatal penetration and quantum confinement effects that improve foliar assimilation, IFFCO nano-derived nanoparticles (20–50 nm) reach 80–90 % nitrogen utilisation efficiency (NUE) on par with prilled urea, which achieves 30–40 %. In India, field tests on rice-wheat systems show that microbial diversity and soil organic carbon are preserved while yields are increased by 20–30 %, N2O flux is reduced by 50–70 % and leaching is reduced by 40 %. This review critically analyses these differences: nano-formulations reduce fertiliser footprints by 50–75 %; economically, they save ₹ 250–400 ha-1 from halved dosages and agronomically, they outperform bulk urea in nutrient synchronisation (e.g., zero-order release curbing luxury uptake). However, regulatory gaps continue, scalability depends on cost-competitive synthesis and the persistence of nano urea poses a risk of nano toxicity in rhizospheres. In a time of limited resources, nano-fertilisers promote sustainable intensification by rethinking nitrogen stewardship and balancing farmer viability, planetary health and productivity.

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