Abstract
Eutrophication is a threat to quality of surface and ground water bodies (SWB) and to bio-diversity of the aquatic eco-system. One of the causes of P accumulation in SWB is its excess application as a fertilizer on agricultural lands. Phosphorus buffering also contributes to eutrophication and remains a major problem years after the release of P is brought under control. It could be discerned from many experiments conducted world over that addition of small amount of P can remove excess P from soils, provided the solution P is maintained in such a manner that productivity is sustained, and nano-P could possibly play a role in it. In such endeavours, P must be applied to soils in amount exact to the requirement of crop. Of course ecological cautions of use of nano-P must not be ignored. Nanoscience approach can deal with the twin contradictions – between low solubility and excess application by opening new avenues to improve nutrient use efficiency and reduce P build ups in soils and thereby reducing its load in SWB and checking contamination in drinking water. Many P fertilizers contain heavy metals, which can be eliminated by nano-P. The success of zeophonics demonstrates that a system can be made self-supporting, and can supply nutrients to plants for a long time. To comprehend P dynamics, land and SWB system must be treated holistically, and sub-divided into components, each with realistic independent system-variables coupled with the processes, which tie these system variables. In nano-P ventures high resolution imaging not only provides evidence of the changes that occur in various phases, but is also an indispensable tool to understand how P dynamics operate.
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Bhalla, D., Mukhopadhyay, S. Eutrophication: Can nanophosphorous control this menace? . Nat Prec (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/npre.2009.3763.1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/npre.2009.3763.1
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