Impact of natural zeolite in agriculture with special reference to field crops

Abstract

Farming with natural rocks and minerals is an age-old practice for food production since stone ages. The intensive production practices associated with imbalanced fertilizer management practices has led to declining quality and or quantity of the soil resource base and climate change. To feed the growing population, soil degradation is the key issue which needs urgent attention. In this context, farming with zeolite has drawn attention. Zeolites are natural rocks and gained a momentum in the recent past due to its large number of physico- chemical properties. They can be used both as carriers of nutrients and as a medium to free nutrients (Sangeetha et al., 2016). Combined application of clinoptilolite zeolite, organic and inorganic fertilizers leads to saving of inorganic fertilizers resulted in improving the growth, increasing the dry matter production, yield and N, P and K uptake in Zea mays L. and also conserve agro-ecosystem for sustainable crop production (Ahmed, 2010). The effect of zeolite and its combination with chemical fertilizer and organic fertilizers (Sugarcane filter cake) increase sugarcane yield as compared to without fertilization (Cairo et al., 2017). Amending urea with rice straw compost and clinoptilolite zeolite improved nitrogen use efficiency because of temporary adsorption and desorption of ammonium on the exchange sites of compost and clinoptilolite zeolite and yield of Zea mays L. (Omar et al., 2018). Combined use of 80 kg / ha N as urea + 50 kg / ha composted manure + 21% zeolite result highest CEC (meq /100gm soil), facilitated highest leave nitrogen concentration (%) and quantity and quality sunflower dry matter yield (kg / ha), but the impact of their application was greater in the second year than in the first year (Gholamhoseini et al., 2012). Integration of 10 t zeolite / ha with either alternate wetting and drying (AWD) or complete flooding (CF) management reduced NH3 volatilization without increasing N leaching and increased rice grain yield and water productivity, with an increased economic benefit of $126 − 195 / ha, as compared to CF without zeolite (Sun et al., 2019). Although considerable research has been advanced, further research needs to carry out for their efficient utilization in farming.