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Enhanced efficiency fertilizers help to provide desirable nutrients to plants and release them in a prolonged time. The public concern about environmental protection and efficiency in the use of resources has increased the need to produce eco-friendly and high-performance products. In this work, we report the preparation and properties of the sustained release of spray-dried microparticles based on two biopolymers, chitosan, and nanocellulose. Cellulose rich solid was isolated from waste sugarcane bagasse by chlorine-free alkali peroxide procedure, yielding solids at 45.2%. Nanocellulose with sulfate groups attached on its surface was obtained by acid hydrolysis, and then it was incorporated into chitosan (CS) and NPK fertilizer solution, followed by spray drying to yield microparticles. The CS microparticles caused a decrease in the initial release rate of NPK, which resulted in extended-release of the entrapped nutrients (around 2 h). The incorporation of 10 wt.% nanocellulose to microparticles provided the most significant reduction on fertilizer release rate within 5 h. The work demonstrates the potential use of sulfated nanocellulose in biopolymeric matrices to design enhanced fertilizer release systems.

Abstract AimChromium (Cr) is a toxic elements and in high concentrations are phytotoxic. This study aimed to test the combined applications of poultry litter biochar and inorganic-fertilizers to ameliorate Cr toxicity.MethodsBiochar, made of poultry litter, was added to Cr contaminated soils (0, 30 and 60 mg kg-1 Cr) either solely or in combination with mineral N fertilizers to ameliorate Cr stress in wheat grown on the contaminated soils for six weeks. A eleven amendments were added to achieve fixed rates of NPK inputs among treatments. Several parameters were used to identify Cr stress coping mechanisms.ResultsRoot and shoot lengths and their dry weights decreased significantly with increasing Cr contamination level in soil. Under such stressful conditions, the amounts of oxidative stress indicators like Malonaldehyde (MDA) and H2O2 increased considerably. Antioxidants rose significantly in these plants. Biochar and/or NPK treatments lessened significantly the oxidative stress indicators in plant, while improved wheat growth parameters. The treatments of Biochar + NPK had the most profound effects for plant fresh weight and length, antioxidant constituents while recorded the least concentrations of Cr in both roots and shoot.ConclusionsCombined poultry litter biochar and NPK inorganic are potential improving biochemical attributes responsible of coping Cr stress.

Maize is one of the most widely used plants in the agricultural industry, and the fields of application of this plant are broad. The experiment was conducted at the Látókép Crop Production Experimental Station of the University of Debrecen, Hungary. Three mid-ripening maize hybrids with different FAO numbers were used in the present study. The effects of different nitrogen supplies were examined as a variable rate of abiotic stress and the interrelationship among the essential nutrients through the nutrient acquisition and partitioning of the different vegetative and generative plant parts. The results showed that NPK application compared to the control treatment (no fertilizer application) increased DM in all tissues of maize, while increasing nitrogen application from 120 to 300 kg ha−1 had no significant effect on this trait. The highest protein content was obtained with the nitrogen application of 120 kg ha−1, and the higher nitrogen fertilizer application had no significant effect on this trait. Seeds and leaves had a maximum zinc and manganese value in terms of nitrogen content (protein). Dry matter was positively correlated with nitrogen, potassium, and manganese content, while the dry matter had a negative correlation with nickel content. In general, to achieve a maximum quantitative and qualitative yield, it is recommended to use NPK fertilizer with a rate of 120 kg ha−1 N for maize cultivation.

Excessive use of inorganic fertilizers disrupts soil nutrient balance and leads to soil degradation and a decrease in biodiversity. In contrast, bio-fertilizers enhance soil structure and fertility and promote plant growth and sustainable agriculture development. Therefore, this study focused on a rotation system of winter wheat and summer maize and aimed to explore the effects of applying chemical fertilizer (NPK) and bio-fertilizer (BF) in the winter wheat season on the sustainable soil development of current wheat and subsequent maize. Before sowing winter wheat four fertilization treatments were, respectively CK (100% NPK at 750 kg ha−1), A (60% NPK at 450 + 20% BF at 150 kg ha−1), B (60% NPK at 450 + 40% BF at 300 kg ha−1), and C (60% NPK at 450 + 60% BF at 450 kg ha−1), conducted. The results showed that treatment A (60% NPK + 20% BF) replacing the NPK at 300 kg ha−1 with BF at 150 kg ha−1 significantly soil nutrient contents, enzyme activity, and microbial metabolic activity. The study also found a positive correlation between soil parameters (total nitrogen, alkaline nitrogen, available phosphorus, organic matter, urease, and alkaline phosphatase in the winter wheat and maize cropping season). Furthermore, the soil microbial composition showed significant enrichment of Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Firmicutes, and variations among treatments. Moreover, the application of biofertilizer enhanced the diversity of soil fungi species, particularly during the winter wheat season. This study highlights the importance of integrating biofertilizers with NPK fertilizer for agricultural system conversion and promoting agricultural production and sustainability.

Increased soil salinity significantly inhibits crop production around the world. Over the last decade, biochar has been used in agriculture to improve plant productivity, soil quality, and as an alternative to plant amendment. This study was aimed to study the effect of biochar, NPK, and their combination on the growth, physio-biochemical traits, mineral contents, and grain yield of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). Thus, a pot factorial experiment based on a completely randomized design with three replications was performed. Experimental treatments included four levels of biochar (0, 2, 5 and 10% of total pot mass), four different NaCl levels (0, 75, 125, and 200 mmol L−1), and with or without NPK fertilizer. The results showed that a negative effect on gas exchange parameters, photosynthetic pigments, SPAD value, minerals contents, and grain yield of barley under salinity treatments. In addition, our funding showed the negative effect on biochemical traits such as proline, soluble sugars, individual sugar, and phenolic compounds. The use of biochar, combined with NPK fertilizers, considerably increases these parameters and especially improves barley grains yield under severe salinity conditions (200 mM) with a dose of 2% and 5% (394.1 and 280.61 g m−2, respectively) of total pot mass. It is concluded that biochar amendment could be a promising practice to enhance barley growth under severe saline irrigation and NPK fertilization regimes.

We investigated the interaction between genotype by trait, and an experiment was conducted at the University of Debrecen. Two maize cultivars, FAO340 and FAO410, were studied in a randomized complete block design with four replications. This experiment was applied to the six fertilization treatments. Fertilizer levels were NPK0 (control) (N:0, P2O5:0, K2O:0), NPK1 (N:30, P2O5:23, K2O:27), NPK2 (N:60, P2O5:46, K2O:54), NPK3 (N:90, P2O5:69, K2O:81), NPK4 (N:120, P2O5:92, K2O:108), and NPK5 (N:150, P2O5:115, K2O:135). The first principal component showed 54.24%, and the second principal component showed 20.75%, which explained the total squares interaction using the AMMI model in the case of the FAO410 hybrid. As regards the FAO340 hybrid, the first principal component showed 58.18%, and the second principal component showed 18.04%, explaining the total squares interaction using the AMMI model in the FAO410 hybrid. In the GGE biplot on FAO410, the first and the second principal components covered 91.20% of the total data in this analysis. Accordingly, the desirable treatment was NPK5, followed by NPK4, NPK2, NPK3, NPK1, and NPK0. NPK4 and NPK5 had the most desirable treatments for the number of seeds per row, chlorophyll, weight of 1000 seeds, and stem diameter in the case of the FAO410 hybrid.

Integrated nutrient management (INM) got substantial attention to decrease reliance on synthetic fertilizer applications in agricultural soils. However, the concept of INM in nutrient-deficient alkaline calcareous soil of the semi-arid climate is not sufficient. This study investigated the effect of single and facile combinations of poultry manure (PM) and compound fertilizer NPK on soil physicochemical parameters, NPK availability, and its uptake by spring maize in alkaline-calcareous soil. A field experiment in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replicates and with three rates of PM (0, 5, and 10 t ha−1) and three rates of compound fertilizer NPK (0, 25, 50, and 75%) of the recommended dose of 120: 90: 60 kg ha−1 was conducted. The facile combination of 10 tons ha−1 PM & 75% NPK fertilizer synergistically improved soil total nitrogen (N) from 0.04 to 0.10%, extractable soil phosphorus (P) from 2.29 to 5.9 mg kg−1 with a percent (%) increase of 157.6, potassium (K) from 83.2 to 123.3 mg kg−1 with a percent (%) increase of 48.19, N uptake from 35.0 to 92 kg ha−1 with a percent (%) increase of 162.8, P uptake from 3.6 to 9.3 kg ha−1 and K uptake from 30.0 to 79.0 kg ha−1 with a percent (%) increase of 154.07 and 163.33, respectively. There was a significant negative correlation between soil pH and NPK uptake, while soil organic matter and NPK uptake had a significant positive correlation. It also improved post-harvest soil organic matter from 0.61 to 1.48%, reduced soil pH from 8.12 to 7.1, and bulk density from 1.34 to 1.04 g cm−3. These changes in soil physicochemical parameters further open up NPK availability and its uptake by spring maize. As an INM strategy, PM combined with compound fertilizer NPK could increase NPK pools and crop yield in alkaline calcareous soils while reducing dependency on synthetic fertilizers.

Sustainability is one of the main components of precision farming that will lead to food security and production resources for current and future generations. The selection of suitable hybrids and fertilizers is among the methods that can directly influence sustainable agriculture and economic efficiency at the farm level, providing accurate site-specific nutrient management strategies for yield maximization. This experiment included two fertilizer sources in ten maize hybrids in four replications for three consecutive years (2018–2020). The experiment was carried out at the Látókép Crop Production Experimental Site of the University of Debrecen, Hungary. The results of the ANOVA showed that genotype, year, and fertilizer levels had various effects on grain yield, oil, protein, and starch content. FAO340 had maximum grain yield on different fertilizers (NPK and N), and FAO350 had maximum protein content. To gain the best performance and maximum yield of maize on protein and oil, FAO350 is recommended for protein and FAO340 for oil content. The parameters of grain yield, oil content, protein content, and starch content affected by NPK fertilizer provide the stability of grain yield parameters. FAO360, FAO420, and FAO320 hybrids had their maximum desirable N fertilizer doses and NPK fertilizer stability in this research. These results indicate that FAO360, FAO420, and FAO330 hybrids had their maximum potential yield in different fertilizer and environmental conditions. Based on this multi-year study, the complete NPK fertilizer with 150 kg/ha nitrogen, 115 kg/ha potassium, 135 kg/ha phosphorus is recommended to be used on maize hybrids.

The lucrative approach of nanotechnology and it´s utilizing in the agricultural sector is prospective. Based on this fact a field trial was done through 2018 and 2019 seasons to scrutinize the consequence of nano N, P and K elements application individual or in combination and nano zeolite loaded nitrogen or not on a sage plant grown under water stress compared to the commercial NPK fertilisers at new reclaimed land. Nano NPK elements were prepared from their precursor as potassium persulfate (K2S2O8), calcium phosphate (Ca (H2PO4)2·H2O) and salt NH4NO3, urea (CO (NH2)2), while nano zeolite was hydrothermally synthesized. Water stress was applied via drip irrigation with 15 days intervals. The data revealed that, nanofertilisers and nano-zeolites had a superior effects on the plant itself under stress conditions with concern on nano-zeolite loaded nitrogen and nano-NPK mixture as well which boosted vegetative growth (plant height, branches number, yield fresh weight, health index, herb fresh and dry weight, leaf area and oil yield), also improved photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, CO2 concentration, water use efficiency and relative water content. The chemical composition (plant pigments, total carbohydrates, total phenolic, tannin, total flavonoids, oil constituents, macro and micro-elements) with indigenous hormones (gibberellic acid GA3 and abscisic acid ABA) and antioxidant enzymes (peroxidase and superoxide dismutase) were also positively affected. The outcomes of current study emphasis global warning about chemical fertilisers pollution, particularly in new reclaimed areas and safety production of medicinal and aromatic plants.

This paper focuses on the agronomic evaluation of a synthetic NPK (N in the form of urea, P and K in the form of phosphate monopotassium) fertilizers blended with four types of pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) wood biochar prepared at different thermal regimes (300 °C, 400 °C, 600 °C and 700 °C). The evaluation of benefits was done based on crop nutritional status and soil fertility. The pot experiment was set up with fertile Haplic Luvisol fertilized with 1.85 g kg−1 of blends of biochar (1.25 g) with urea (310 mg) and KH2PO4 (290 mg), which is equivalent to 500 kg ha−1 (biochar ~67.6%; N ~7.8%; P ~3.6%; K ~4.7%) applied before sowing. Only NPK blends made with biochar containing 75% or 85% carbon increased the biomass of 27-day old wheat seedlings from 12% to 20% in comparison to NPK applied alone. These blends raised the content of Mn and Fe in plants but decreased the contents of Ca and Mg. All the tested mixtures enhanced soil fertility by increasing the content of humic acids. Additionally, the content of potentially phytotoxic phenolic compounds was lower. In general, the addition of biochar to NPK fertilizer did not show a negative effect on crop quality. The overall results of the study suggest that the application of low doses of biochar to synthetic fertilizer can benefit crops and can support soil fertility.