Nutrient Management Technologies and the Role of Organic Matrix-Based Slow-Release Biofertilizers for Agricultural Sustainability: A Review

Natural soil containing nutrients (like nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium and potassium) allows plants to grow. The deficiency of nutrients in soil reduced the growth and development of plants. When the nutrient level is too low, the plant cannot function properly and then fertilizers provide sufficient nutrients to plants. Nowadays the farmer applied various kinds of synthetic and organic and some special class of microbial fertilizers for more production of agricultural crops. Excess use of chemical fertilizers caused nutrient leaching problems and also pollutes soil, water and air environment. However, chemical fertilizers are expensive, non-eco-friendly, cause eutrophication, reduce organic matter and microbial activity in the soil and are hazardous to health. Therefore, Slow-release biofertilizers are also produced by the technical intermediations that breakdown the nutrients and make them available to the plants for a longer duration. These fertilizers play an important role in improving the growth and development of plants, thereby mitigating environmental pollution and helping in sustainable agriculture. The efficacy of slow-release biofertilizers can be enhanced plant growth and productivity and manage the nutrient leaching from soil and also control water pollution.