Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
ABSTRACT
Nanotechnology is emerging out as the sixth revolutionary technology
in the current era after the Industrial Revolution of mid 1700s, Nuclear
Energy Revolution of the 1940s, The Green Revolution of 1960s, Infor-
mation Technology Revolution of 1980s and Biotechnology Revolution
of the 1990s. It is a new frontier with challenges and opportunities that
will extend our reach and enrich our lives. The word
Nanotechnology
has
originated from a Greek word which means “dwarf” and nanometer is 1
billionth of a meter (1 nm = 10
-9
meter). Nanotechnology is defined as the
understanding and control of matter at dimensions of roughly 1-100 nm,
where unique physical properties make novel applications possible (EPA,
2007). Utilizing basic principles of nano-science and nano-technology, we
can contribute significantly towards development of new agro-production
and protection technologies. It is worthy to consider the following rela-
tionship between particle size and surface area what we have known for
a long-time about how the properties of particles change as they decrease
in size to the micron to submicron size range. For spherical particles, the
ratio of surface area 'A' (A=4pr
2
) to volume 'V' (V= 4/3pr
3
) is inversely
proportional to the particle radius 'r,' i. e. A/V = 3/r. This relationship
tells us that as a particle becomes smaller, its surface area becomes an
increasingly larger component of its overall form. Thus, reduction of par-
ticle sizes of the naturally occurring minerals is an important means to
increase their reactivity in soil vis-à-vis availability to the growing plants.
Vast deposits of minerals, which are not suitable for industrial use, can
be made useful as sources of plant nutrients for the crop production. Our
investigation clearly indicated that low grade rock phosphates, can easily
be made as a source of P to the plant when they are converted to nano-size
(<100 nm). Similarly, vast deposits of gluconite/waste mica, dolomite and
magnetite (as source of Ca & Mg), pyrite (as source of Fe and S), can be
made useful for agriculture use with a reduced cost and without impair-
ing damage to environment. A protocol was developed to fortify the Urea
granules with a consortium of nano-particles of Zn, Cu, Fe, and Si using
oleoresin. This protocol can successfully be used to deliver nano-particles
of micronutrients along with urea. The nano-particles coated urea, thus
produced, contained 43.84% N, 2.20 mg Zn/g Urea, 1.10 mg Fe/g Urea,
0.66 mg Cu/g Urea and 1.06 mg Si/g Urea. Application of such urea @
200 Kg/ha will supply, 440 g Zn, 220 g Fe, 132 g Cu and 212 g Si along
