REVIEW article
Front. Soil Sci.
Sec. Plant-Soil Interactions
This article is part of the Research TopicNanoparticles in Soil – Plant SystemsView all 3 articles
Re-engineering of Nanofertilizers for Sustainable Agriculture: Synthesis, Mechanistic Insights, Toxicity and Regulatory Frontiers
Provisionally accepted
Mubashir Sadiq V1*
Deepanjali Gupta2
Omji Nath MS3
Isha Tehseen2
Dr Shubham Durgude4
Prince Kumar1Mohammed Salman CK1Shemeem Shah1- 1Indian Agricultural Research Institute (ICAR), New Delhi, India
- 2Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar, India
- 3Kerala Agricultural University, Vellanikkara, India
- 4Borlaug Institute for South Asia, New Delhi, India
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The green revolution enhanced global food production, ensuring food security for a rapidly growing population. However, overreliance on traditional fertilizers has led to environmental degradation and poor nutrient use efficiency. This necessitates a paradigm shift toward sustainable agriculture. Nanofertilizers are a frontier technology having the potential to overcome such challenges by optimizing nutrient delivery and reducing environmental footprint. This review critically assesses the mechanistic basis of nanofertilizers, beginning with synthesis methods and formulation techniques which enable their controlled and targeted nutrient release. It further discusses, the fate and transformation of nanofertilizers in soil and atmospheric matrices. Also, interaction with microbial populations, along with mechanisms of uptake, translocation, and cellular internalization in plants. The review also explores pivotal areas of nanotoxicology, detailing phytotoxicity mechanisms, defining dose-limiting toxicity thresholds, and deliberation on mitigation options. A brief overview of the developing regulatory schemes is also presented, coupled with the present landscape of innovation and future prospects. Such an integration emphasizes the significance of multidisciplinary approach, linking strong regulatory controls with technological development to safely and efficiently harness nanofertilizers for a sustainable and climate-resilient food future.
Keywords: Controlled nutrient release, nanofertilizers, nanotoxicology, Soil-plant interactions, sustainable agriculture, Synthesis and formulation
Received: 31 Jul 2025; Accepted: 16 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Sadiq V, Gupta, MS, Tehseen, Durgude, Kumar, CK and Shah. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Mubashir Sadiq V
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