Outburst of world population in the past decade has forced the agricultural

sector to increase crop productivity to satisfy the needs of billions of people

especially in developing countries. Widespread existence of nutrient
deficiency in soils has resulted in great economic loss for farmers and
significant decreases in nutritional quality and overall quantity of grains for
human beings and livestock. Use of large-scale application of chemical
fertilizers to increase the crop productivity is not a suitable option for long run
because the chemical fertilizers are considered as double-edged swords,
which on the one hand increase the crop production but on the other hand
disturb the soil mineral balance and decrease soil fertility. Large-scale
application of chemical fertilizers results in an irreparable damage to the soil
structure, mineral cycles, soil microbial flora, plants, and even more on the
food chains across ecosystems leading to heritable mutations in future
generations of consumers. In recent years, nanotechnology has extended its
relevance in plant science and agriculture. Advancement in nanotechnology
has improved ways for large-scale production of nanoparticles of
physiologically important metals, which are now used to improve fertilizer
formulations for increased uptake in plant cells and by minimizing nutrient
loss. Nanoparticles have high surface area, sorption capacity, and controlled-
release kinetics to targeted sites making them smart delivery system.
Nanostructured fertilizers can increase the nutrient use efficiency through
mechanisms such as targeted delivery, slow or controlled release. They could
precisely release their active ingredients in responding to environmental
triggers and biological demands. In recent lab scale investigations, it has
been reported that nano-fertilizers can improve crop productivity by
enhancing the rate of seed germination, seedling growth, photosynthetic
activity, nitrogen metabolism, and carbohydrate and protein synthesis.
However, as being an infant technology, the ethical and safety issues
surrounding the use of nanoparticles in plant productivity are limitless and
must be very carefully evaluated before adapting the use of the so-called
nano-fertilizers in agricultural fields. In this chapter, we emphasize on the
formulation and delivery of nano-fertilizers, their uptake, translocation, and
fate in plants as well as their effect on plant physiology and metabolism.
Ethical and safety issues regarding the use of nanotechnology in agriculture
are also discussed.