Zeolite and its potential uses in agriculture: A critical review

In many parts of the world food security is being affected due to declining quality and/or quantity of the soil resource base and climate change. In this context, farming with zeolites has drawn attention. Zeolites are natural aluminosilicates present in rocks different part of the world. Use of zeolite has gained a momentum in the recent past owing to multitude of benefits accured from them. Zeolites are useful in agriculture because of their large porosity, cation exchange capacity and selectivity for ammonium and potassium cations. They can be used both as carriers of nutrients and as a medium to free nutrients. Although considerable research has been advanced, further research needs to carried out for their efficient utilization in farming.