CONTROLLED RELEASE FERTILIZERS- AN OVERVIEW

With the increase in the world population and the demand for food, new agricultural practices have been developed to improve food production through the use of more effective pesticides and fertilizers. Potential benefits of controlled release technology in improving performance and safety of chemicals, that involve materials such as barriers surrounding active materials to manipulate the latter to deliver at optimum time and rate needed. In the present review paper, the recent trends, developments and future applications of controlled release fertilizers (CRFs) produced from renewable resources were thoroughly discussed. Polymers coated CRFs are attracting increased attention due to environmental concerns and the realization that global resources are finite. Application of polymer and nanotechnology in the design of CRFs, the classification of CRFs and the economical, agronomical and environmental aspects of CRFs has been discussed putting into account the development and synthesis of CRFs. The article also envisages the technological and future challenges in bringing these materials to a wide range of applications, together with resolved solutions.