Controlled-release fertilizers from phosphate glass-matrix: A new ecological approach to match nutrients release with plants demand

Abstract

Physico-chemical properties, structural characterization, and dissolution behaviors of four phosphate glasses modified by incorporating zinc, boron, and copper, acting as eco-friendly fertilizers with controlled release of macro and micronutrients for wheat plants, were investigated. The elaborated glasses were characterized by differential thermal analysis, density measurements, X-ray diffraction, FTIR spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. The dissolution behaviors were investigated using weight and pH measurements. The ionic concentration of leachate solutions was determined using ICP-OES. Results proved that the glass's chemical composition and lattice structure play the mean role in controlling the release of nutrients from the glass. The seemingly different properties between the elaborated glasses depend on the strength's bonds of glass lattice-formers and modifiers as well as their ionic field strength of the incorporated elements. An agronomic valorization was carried out to evaluate the efficiency of these agriglasses on wheat crops. It revealed a positive impact on wheat growth, yield, photosynthetic parameters, and grain mineral content with improvement values ranging from 4 to 89% compared to conventional fertilizers. These results pave the way to applying these fertilizers in large-scale experimentation to confirm their potentiality in crop production and as eco-friendly fertilizers.