SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Sustain.
Sec. Nature-Based Solutions
Volume 6 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/frsus.2025.1584529
Potential Application of Nanotechnology in Formulating Biofertilizers as a sustainable way for Promoting Plant Growth -A systematic review
Provisionally accepted
- Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, Arusha, Arusha, Tanzania
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Nanoparticles and Plant Growth-Promoting Microbes are trending sustainable means for supplying plant nutrients. The purpose of this review was to understand how these technologies have been applied together to enhance plant growth. A PRISMA protocol was followed to explore relevant articles that reported the impact of nanoparticles on plant growth-promoting microbes or their influence on plant growth. By using the established search string, 70 original research articles published between 2000 and 2023 from Google Scholar and Scopus were obtained. The results show that 21 microbe genera with more than 50 species can promote plant growth. Free-living plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria are the most studied microbe, followed by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Inorganic nanoparticles, such as ZnO, are the most extensively studied nanoparticles, followed by organic nanoparticles, primarily chitosan.Nanoparticles and plant growth-promoting microbes can be applied as separate treatments or by formulating nano-biofertilizer, and their combination ameliorates biotic and abiotic plant growth stresses. The effect of nanoparticles on plant growth-promoting microbes is concentration and species-dependent.
Keywords: Nanobiofertilizer, Nanoparticles, Plant growth-promoting microbes, Plant Growth, Nanotechnology
Received: 27 Feb 2025; Accepted: 11 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Massawe, Mbega and Meya. 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: Ikunda Herman Massawe, Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, Arusha, Arusha, Tanzania
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.