Zeolites are emerging soil amendments for improving soil physical and chemical properties in agriculture: A review.

Abstract

Soil water and soil nutrient contents are the most important factors for crop productivity and agricultural sustainability. Water has become very scarce in rainfed agriculture and the cost of chemical fertilizers is increasing day by day. Nutrients availability and their translocation also reduce under limited water availability. Therefore, it is very important to manage both water and nutrient resources and to improve their use efficiency through environment friendly strategies. In the recent time, the use of zeolites has been emphasized in improving the physical and chemical properties of soils due to their high CEC, moisture holding capacity and etc. Zeolites are naturally occurring aluminosilicates with voids and channels in their inner structure, where water and nutrients are stored and exchanged. This characteristic of zeolites can be capitalized to enhance the use efficiency of fertilizers and water and to reduce the risk of environmental pollution occurring due to nitrate leaching and emissions of nitrous oxides and NH3 . It is with this concern; the present review is focused on harnessing the potential of zeolites, for improving the water and nutrient use efficiency with reduced carbon foot prints