Biological Nanofertilizer for Horticultural Crops: A Diagrammatic Mini-Review

Abstract

GRICULTURE is very important for humanity as it supplies human needs ranging from food to fiber, feed for animals and energy. The production of seedlings is of great agricultural importance, especially in horticultural nurseries. Producing vigorous and healthy seedlings like banana and strawberry using biological nanofertilizers (bionanofertilizers) is presented in this mini-review. Due to their properties, bionanofertilizers have received increasing interest in agriculture, particularly during transplanting or the production of seedlings. Many studied seedlings attributes, such as the plants' antioxidants systems, nutritional status, and quality parameters of seedlings have been improved through the use of bionanofertilizers. The most important impacts of bionanofertilizers may include enhancing production of seedlings or plants under biotic and abiotic stresses through the improvement of attributes like physiological, biochemical, and molecular characteristics. This diagrammatic mini-review will focus on biological nanofertilizers and their potential uses in horticultural crop production.

Development and Evaluation of Zinc and Iron Nanoparticles Functionalized with Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) and Microalgae for Their Application as Bio-Nanofertilizers

“…And (2) the nanofertilizer function of the ZnO-and γ-Fe 2 O 3 -NPs, which provide more bioavailable essential nutrients with vital functions in the plant cells. The organic and inorganic components of these treatments could also be responsible for microbial growth promotion [10,12]. Plants can either absorb zinc and iron in the form of ions (Zn 2+ and Fe 3+ ), siderophore complexes, or NPs through the roots.…”

“…Around one-third of the world's population is affected by micronutrient deficiencies. In particular, zinc (Zn) and iron (Fe) are among the most widespread deficiencies; in fact, it is evident that 20% of deaths of children under five years old are caused by Fe and Zn deficiencies, which are strongly related to diet quality [1,2,4,6,[9][10][11].…”

“…Zinc is an essential micronutrient for both plants and humans since this metal is crucial for over 300 enzymes and hormones; hence it is involved in many metabolic processes, including DNA transcription, RNA processing, protein synthesis, protein-protein interaction, carbohydrate metabolism, and cell membrane integrity. Zinc deficiency in plants is associated with physiological stress, decreased photosynthetic rate, dwarf growth, hormonal imbalances, chlorosis, spikelet sterility, decreased crop production, and reduced nutritional value of fruits and seeds [4,7,10]. In the soil, only 1% of total Zn is watersoluble and available for plant uptake (Zn 2+ ); more than 84% can be found as ZnCO 3 , ZnO, Zn 3 (PO 4 ) 2 •4H 2 O, and ZnS.…”

“…Nanofertilization has risen as an innovative and promising solution for conventional mineral fertilizers and as an important strategy to increase crop productivity, even under abiotic stress, and reduce plant nutrient deficiencies and soil nutrient imbalances [3,4,7,8,10,14,16]. Nanofertilizers (NFs) are also substances that provide nutrients to plants but in a much smaller particle size (nanoscale < 100 nm).…”

Biofortification of Broccoli Microgreens (Brassica oleracea var. italica) with Glucosinolates, Zinc, and Iron through the Combined Application of Bio- and Nanofertilizers

“…Nanofertilizers consist of nanoscale nutrients (1-100 nm) that present unique physicochemical properties, including a high surface area to volume ratio and increased reactivity and functionalization properties, compared with their bulk macrostructure counterparts (commonly used as conventional mineral fertilizers). The nanoscale improves plant nutrient absorption, transport, and utilization, facilitating their penetration through biological barriers, diffusion to the vascular system, and assimilation in the different plant organs [28][29][30][31]. Nanofertilizers have been reported to be between 20 to 30% more efficient than conventional mineral fertilizers [28,[32][33][34].…”