Biopolymer based nanofertilizers applications in abiotic stress (drought and salinity) control

Abstract With ever growing world population, environmental changes, uncontrolled urbanization, food security is emerging as an important issue with every passing day. Researchers from divergent fields including plant sciences are developing strategies and technologies to restrict the problem of food security. Plant stresses such as drought and salinity can be termed as key players in the alleviation of overall crop yield around the world. Both the stresses hit the nutrient uptake ability of the plant leaving it venerable to environmental conditions. Nano fertilizers are emerging at a new solution for handling the major plant problems like salinity and drought. The application of nanoparticles has advantages such as enhanced surface area and enhanced reactivity. The safe, targeted and slow delivery of plant nutrients can be carried-out by using bio-based nanoparticle carriers. A large variety of biopolymers have been tested for this purpose such as chitosan, cellulose, alginate and chitin. In the current book chapter, we provide an overview of the basic concepts of Nano fertilizers and its role in alleviation of salinity and drought stress. Also, the control release of these Nano fertilizers through different matrices have been discussed in detail with recent studies.