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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.
Sec. Crop Biology and Sustainability
Volume 8 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2024.1464021
This article is part of the Research Topic Innovative Solutions For Next-Generation Fertilizers View all 9 articles

Chitosan-based NPK nanostructure for reducing synthetic NPK fertilizers and improving rice productivity and nutritional indices

Provisionally accepted
Omnia Elshayb Omnia Elshayb 1Hassnaa A. Ghazy Hassnaa A. Ghazy 1Mariam T. Wissa Mariam T. Wissa 1Khaled Y. Fraaoh Khaled Y. Fraaoh 2Daniel O. Wasonga Daniel O. Wasonga 3Mahmoud F. Seleiman Mahmoud F. Seleiman 4*
  • 1 Field Crops Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center (Egypt), Giza, Beni Suef, Egypt
  • 2 Agricultural Research Center (Egypt), Giza, Giza, Egypt
  • 3 Department of Crop Sciences, College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States
  • 4 Department of Plant Production, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Researchers have repeatedly emphasized how urgently we musthave to decrease the massive nitrogen fertilizer consumption to support agricultural productivity and maintain a sustainable ecosystem. Using chitosan (CS) as a carrier for slow release is considered a potential tool for reducing synthetic fertilizer and improving crop productivity. Therefore, two field experiments were conducted arranged in a randomized complete block design to investigate the effects of seven treatments including synthetic fertilizer and exogenous application of chitosan-based NPK nanostructure (Ch/NPs-NPK) on growth, productivity, and nutrient uptake traits of rice as a worldwide strategy crop during 2022 and 2023 growing seasons. The experimental treatments were: T1= full recommended synthetic NPK (recommended urea, superphosphate, potassium sulfate; control treatment) , T2= 70% of T1 + Ch/NPs-NPK 100 ppm, T3= 70% of T1+ Ch/NPs-NPK 200 ppm, T4= 70% of T1+ Ch/NPs-NPK 300 ppm, T5= 30% of T1+ Ch/NPs-NPK 100 ppm, T6= 30% of T1+ Ch/NPs-NPK 200 ppm, and T7= 30% of T1 + Ch/NPs-NPK 300 ppm. The results revealed that T4 (i.e., 70% of recommended NPK+ Ch/NPs-NPK 300 ppm) and T1 (full recommended synthetic NPK) resulted in the highest and most significant growth and yield traits of rice as well as nutrient grain contents compared to other treatments. Therefore, combining 70% of recommended NPK with Ch/NPs-NPK 300 ppm as an exogenous application can be a smart choice for reducing synthetic NPK fertilizers by 30% in paddy fields without producing a significant decline in terms of growth, yield characteristics, or nutrient grain contents when applying the full recommended synthetic NPK.

    Keywords: Chitosan-based NPK nanostructure, rice, productivity, sustainable agriculture, food secuity

    Received: 12 Jul 2024; Accepted: 15 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Elshayb, Ghazy, Wissa, Fraaoh, Wasonga and Seleiman. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Mahmoud F. Seleiman, Department of Plant Production, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.