Application of advanced nanoclay material as a chemical fertiliser loss control agent for loss control fertiliser development in Thailand

In development of novel chemical fertiliser loss control techniques for promoting agriculture, nanomaterials and nanotechnology have been involved in applications. In this study a type of natural nanoclay material, attapulgite, was applied after electron beam treatment of the as-mined material as a chemical fertiliser loss control agent (LCA). The LCA was mixed with normal chemical fertiliser to form loss control fertiliser (LCF). The LCF was applied to Thai rice growing in a farm field. In the aqueous phase, LCF self-assembled to form 3D micro/nano networks. The fertiliser could form fibrous crystals with the clay rods as the nucleus, obtaining a higher nitrogen spatial scale, so that the nutrient could be retained by the soil filtering layer, and thus nitrogen loss was reduced. Two types of LCFs, machine-made and manmade, were applied. After the LCF was applied, the growth and crop yield of the rice were studied and compared with that obtained with normal fertiliser, and the pH, N and K in soil were mea...