Nano-fertilizers for climate-smart agriculture: resource efficiency across soil-plant-environment systems

Abstract

Climate change is intensifying constraints on agricultural productivity by amplifying nutrient losses, yield instability, and environmental degradation. Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) seeks to address these challenges by integrating productivity, resilience, and sustainability; however, conventional fertilizer practices remain inefficient and environmentally burdensome. Recent advances in nano-fertilizer technologies offer new opportunities to improve nutrient management within CSA frameworks. Nano-fertilizers enhance nutrient delivery through controlled release, improved uptake, and targeted translocation, leading to higher nutrient use efficiency, improved crop performance, and greater tolerance to abiotic stresses such as drought, salinity, and temperature extremes. At the soil scale, nano-enabled formulations influence nutrient retention, microbial activity, and biogeochemical cycling, while at the environmental scale, they reduce nutrient leaching and mitigate emissions of nitrous oxide and ammonia. At the same time, concerns related to environmental fate, ecotoxicological effects, and long-term nanoparticle accumulation highlight the need for cautious deployment. The emerging integration of nano-fertilizers with precision agriculture, digital sensing, and artificial intelligence further strengthens their potential for adaptive nutrient management under climate variability. Overall, nano-fertilizers represent a promising component of climate-smart nutrient strategies, provided that their adoption is supported by field-scale validation, environmentally sound design, and appropriate regulatory oversight.