Zeolites Enhance Soil Health, Crop Productivity and Environmental Safety
Mousumi Mondal,
Benukar Biswas,
Sourav Garai,
Sukamal Sarkar,
Hirak Banerjee,
Koushik Brahmachari,
Prasanta Kumar Bandyopadhyay,
Sagar Maitra,
Marian Brestic,
Milan Skalicky,
Peter Ondrisik,
Akbar Hossain
Affiliations
Mousumi Mondal
Department of Agronomy, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya (BCKV), Nadia 741252, West Bengal, India
Benukar Biswas
Department of Agronomy, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya (BCKV), Nadia 741252, West Bengal, India
Sourav Garai
Department of Agronomy, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya (BCKV), Nadia 741252, West Bengal, India
Sukamal Sarkar
Department of Agronomy, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya (BCKV), Nadia 741252, West Bengal, India
Hirak Banerjee
Department of Agronomy, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya (BCKV), Nadia 741252, West Bengal, India
Koushik Brahmachari
Department of Agronomy, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya (BCKV), Nadia 741252, West Bengal, India
Prasanta Kumar Bandyopadhyay
Department of Agricultural Chemistry and Soil Science, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya (BCKV), Nadia 741252, West Bengal, India
Sagar Maitra
Department of Agronomy, Centurion University of Technology and Management, Paralakhemundi 761211, Odisha, India
Marian Brestic
Department of Plant Physiology, Slovak University of Agriculture, Nitra, Tr. A. Hlinku 2, 949 01 Nitra, Slovakia
Milan Skalicky
Department of Botany and Plant Physiology, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamycka 129, 165 00 Prague, Czech Republic
Peter Ondrisik
Department of Environment and Zoology, Slovak University of Agriculture, Nitra, Tr. A. Hlinku 2, 949 01 Nitra, Slovakia
Akbar Hossain
Bangladesh Wheat and Maize Research Institute, Dinajpur 5200, Bangladesh
In modern days, rapid urbanisation, climatic abnormalities, water scarcity and quality degradation vis-à-vis the increasing demand for food to feed the growing population necessitate a more efficient agriculture production system. In this context, farming with zeolites, hydrated naturally occurring aluminosilicates found in sedimentary rocks, which are ubiquitous and environment friendly, has attracted attention in the recent past owing to multidisciplinary benefits accrued from them in agricultural activities. The use of these minerals as soil ameliorants facilitates the improvement of soil’s physical and chemical properties as well as alleviates heavy metal toxicity. Additionally, natural and surface-modified zeolites have selectivity for major essential nutrients, including ammonium (NH4+), phosphate (PO42−), nitrate (NO3−), potassium (K+) and sulphate (SO42−), in their unique porous structure that reduces nutrient leaching. The slow-release nature of zeolites is also beneficial to avail nutrients optimally throughout crop growth. These unique characteristics of zeolites improve the fertilizer and water use efficiency and, subsequently, diminish environmental pollution by reducing nitrate leaching and the emissions of nitrous oxides and ammonia. The aforesaid characteristics significantly improve the growth, productivity and quality of versatile crops, along with maximising resource use efficiency. This literature review highlights the findings of previous studies as well as the prospects of zeolite application for achieving sustenance in agriculture without negotiating the output.