(2017-08-23) Ramesh Raliya; Vinod Saharan; Christian O. Dimkpa; Pratim Biswas
The increasing food demand due to the rising global population has prompted the large-scale 6 use of fertilizers. Due to resource constraints and low use efficiency of fertilizers, the cost to the 7 farmer is increasing dramatically. Nanotechnology offers a great potential to tailor fertilizer 8 production with the desired chemical composition, improve the nutrient use efficiency that may 9 reduce environmental impact and boost the plant productivity. Furthermore, controlled release 10 and targeted delivery of nanoscale active ingredients can realize the potential of sustainable 11 and precision agriculture. A review of nanotechnology-based smart and precision agriculture is 12 discussed in this paper. Scientific gaps to be overcome, and fundamental questions to be 13 answered for safe and effective development and deployment of nanotechnology are 14 addressed.