ABSTRACT
Micronutrients are those vital nutrients that are required in a balanced form for both humans and plant growth. Nonetheless today, soil and crops are deficient in such micronutrients, causing food insecurity and malnutrition worldwide. An initiative or alternative has been proposed to unravel this issue. Micronutrients can also be used as fertilizers to improve crop production when conventional fertilizers are incompetent. Studies illustrate that metal and metal oxide nanoparticles (NPs) possess great potential for the amplification of a crop’s nutrient content resulting in the multiplication of crop yield and biomass production. It can also provide resistance to drought, disease, and pests even in the absence of NPK fertilizers. Different methods have been adopted like dietary diversification, drugs, and industrial fortification but the tenability and supportability of these methods are inadequate. Plants directly get their nutrients from the soil and indirectly from conventional fertilizers but later one yields low efficiency and huge environmental effects. Engineered nanofertilizers are comparatively more competent and target oriented. These engineered NPs have certain advantages over chemical fertilizers like plant nutrients can be supplemented and easily absorbed by plants. Moreover, biological synthesis of metal and metal oxide NPs should be preferred. This would help to eliminate the harmful effects related to NPs for the environment and public health. This chapter also highlights the biosafety of NPs in general.
