The Use of Nanofertilizers as Micronutrients to Improve Marginal Soils and Crop Production

The quality of agricultural soils contributes to the amount of food produced globally for the entire world’s population. However, there are several environmental restrictions that often result in reduced agricultural output. The constraints include abiotic and biotic stresses and can affect both agricultural and marginal soils. Keeping in mind that crops require different nutrients for development, nanofertilizers (or nanonutrients) have emerged as potential tools for agricultural sustainability, particularly for the marginal environments that experience both biotic and abiotic challenges. Nanofertilizers have the potential to significantly increase plant production, both qualitatively and quantitatively. Due to their minute size, these fertilizers are the ideal solution to overcome the environmental and health issues that traditional fertilizers may cause because they are more easily absorbed by the plant through targeted distribution and are less likely to leach into the environment. Caution should however be placed on the effect these nanofertilizers, as known antibacterial agents, can have on soil ecosystems. Therefore, this chapter elucidates the role of nanofertilizers as micronutrients for crop production under stressed conditions that might be experienced on marginal lands.