Recent advances in the chemistry of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium as fertilizers in soil: A review

Abstract

The advent of civilization has made humans dependent on plants for food and medicine, leading to the intensification of agricultural production. The intense cultivation of crops has resulted in the depletion of available nutrients from soil, thereby demanding the application of excess nutrients to soil to improve yield. Thus, mineral fertilizer discovery and application have, in many ways, contributed greatly to meeting global food demands. However, aside from the positive effects of mineral fertilizers, their excessive application to soil produces large amounts of pollutants that affect environmental sustainability. This necessitates the study of the major mineral fertilizer elements (nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K)), the forms in which they are applied to soil, and their chemistry/reactions in soil. Here, we reviewed the forms of different N, P, and K mineral fertilizers to provide current knowledge on their constituents, the chemistry of N, P, and K in soil to understand the reactions they undertake in soil, the efficient methods of fertilizer application for environmental sustainability, the effects of mineral fertilizer loss to the environment, and improved fertilization technologies for environmental sustainability. Nanofertilizers are a promising technology for sustainable agricultural production and are discussed in detail in this review.