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Biogenic silica synthesised from rice husk was used as a controlled release system of an eco-friendly biocide consisting of a Justicia adhatoda extract. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) indicated the presence of ester bonds between the silica support and the conjugated Justicia adhatoda extract. Surface area analysis and microscopy confirmed a high level of Justicia adhatoda extract loading in the silica support. The phytochemical investigation of Justicia adhatoda was done by Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) spectroscopy. Moreover, compared with the naked biogenic silica nanoparticles, a better thermal stability was determined for the conjugated system of the extracted compounds. Trial of kinetic release of silica: Justicia adhatoda ∼29% of loaded Justicia adhatoda was released within 1 h and then the rate of release became slow. Net release of Justicia adhatoda was observed up to 50% within 7 h. The Justicia adhatoda compounds released from silica also showed the improved mortality rate against stored product pest rice weevil (Sitophilus oryzae).This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.

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The efficacy of nitrogen inculcation by plants is relatively low, and this is a critical problem instance of environmental protection. Enhancement of nitrogen assimilation can be carried out through the refurbishing, producing and applying the controlled release fertilisers. Biogenic nano silica has been proposed as an unconventional material in the fabrication of controlled-release fertilisers. Mesoporous silica was synthesised from silica-rich biogenic wastes banana peel and groundnut shell. Ammonium phosphate [diammonium phosphate (DAP), monoammonium phosphate (MAP)] rich phosphorus fertilisers were loaded with mesoporous silica which facilitates controlled release. AFM, FT-IR, XRD and SEM characterise the loaded fertilisers and further studied for controlled and prolonged release in soil and water. The soil toxicity was evaluated against ecologically relevant microbes Bacillus spp, Pseudomonas spp, and Acetobacter spp.