Agricultural producers need to become more efficient with their land and resources. Climate change is impacting weather patterns and making ag production unpredictable. Increasingly, frequent storms, floods, drought, and wildfires are affecting ag profitability.

Nanotechnology is the 21st century tool for increased production with lessened environmental impacts. Food insecurity, water pollution, and decreasing soil fertility are grave concerns for the world moving through the 21st century.

The industrial revolution sparked population growth and an increase in agricultural yield /acre. That food production increase was fueled by the increased use of chemical fertilizers and crop protection products. This has been beneficial for the past 50 years but is having serious impacts on the environment and overall plant health.

The Potential of Nanotechnology

The overuse of fertilizer products that contain nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium has had serious side effects, including loss of soil microorganisms and soil organic matter. Water pollution by highly mobile nutrients such as nitrogen is causing algae blooms and serious eutrophication. As farmers and ranchers, you’re good stewards of the land, but you’re also businesspeople.

We will look at how nanotechnology works, how it can improve your bottom line, and why it’s one of the solutions for 21st century ag. To find out how nanotechnology can be added to your existing fertilization program, get in touch with us.

What is Nanotechnology?

For agriculture, it’s all about optimum plant nutrition. Whether you’re growing specialty crops, row crops, or forage for livestock, you want to get the optimum fertilizer nutrients into your plants.

Nanotechnology particles are between 10-100 nanometers. To put that into perspective, a blade of grass is 1 million nanometers thick. Each nanoparticle has a surface area the size of a football field, so it can hold a lot of fertilizer or chemical ions.

Nanoparticles possess distinctive chemical and physical properties that set them apart. These unique properties offer several advantages, including increased chemical stability, greater plant absorption, and enhanced environmental safety.

They have improved chemical stability compared to larger particles. Their size, which typically ranges from 10 to 100 nanometers, allows for a larger surface area compared to their volume. This increased surface area enables better interactions with other molecules, making nanoparticles more stable and a great delivery system for nutrient and chemistry ions.

Due to their small size and unique crystalline structure, nanoparticles allow for greater plant uptake of beneficial crop products. Nanoparticles find applications in many industries but are critical for enhanced agricultural input efficiency.

Nanoparticles offer environmental safety benefits. Their biodegradability inside plant cellular structures minimizes the need for excessive chemical fertilizers or pesticides, reducing potential environmental degradation caused by wind and water erosion. Since nanoparticles degrade within the cellular structure of plants, the risk of runoff and pollution of nearby water bodies is minimized.

The amount of fertilizer and plant protection products can be reduced with the use of nanotechnology. The costs of all ag inputs, including fertilizer, keep going up so it’s well to know there’s a solution.

Nanotechnology and Crop Protection

Every farmer struggles with pests and diseases. Pesticides, fungicides, and nematicides are in each farmer’s ag toolkit. But every growing season more pathogens have become resistant to these applications. Spraying more chemicals on crops isn’t the answer.

Combine those same chemistries with nanoparticles and end up inside the plant creating defense mechanisms against pathogens. Nanoformulations such as NanoPro® are effective carriers of crop protection products such as herbicides, pesticides, or fungicides.

NanoPro®, developed by Aqua-Yield®, delivers crop protection solutions efficiently into your plants either through root or foliar uptake. The compatibility of NanoPro® with traditional crop protection products has been thoroughly tested. Aqua-Yield® recommends a jar test to be on the safe side.

Incorporating NanoPro® into your spray tank ensures the effectiveness of your pesticide product by improving uptake around 25% for maximum ROI. . When the plant has a ready-built defense system, it’s ready for those sucking and biting insects. And when the pesticides are inside the plant there’s less damage to beneficial pollinators and microorganisms.

Crop protection is only one aspect of a healthy and profitable farm ecosystem. Plants need the right nutrients at the right time for optimum yield.

Nanoparticle technology is a win for the environment and a win for farm profit.

Fertilizer Efficiency and Nanotechnology

Overuse of fertilizers has led to nutrient runoff and eutrophication of nearby (and distant) water bodies. It’s possible, as every producer knows, to use too much fertilizer. Studies show plants can only absorb so much plant nutrient and it’s been estimated that as much as 50-70% of applied N fertilizer is lost to the surrounding environment.

A balance of macronutrients and micronutrients is critical to avoid nutrient deficiencies. Understanding the interdependencies of nutrients, plants, and microorganisms is critical to sustainable crop solutions in the 21st century.

The efficiency of fertilizer applications can be greatly enhanced with the use of nanotechnology. With nanoparticles in your liquid fertilizer tank, you create a nanoemulsion that is quickly and easily absorbed by plant cells.

NanoN+®, by Aqua-Yield®, protects nutrient availability and delivers needed nutrients into the plant cellular structure. Nanomaterials made from silica are beneficial for microorganisms and needed for plants for optimum health.

NanoSilica is the nanoparticle used as the carrier in Aqua-Yield® products’ innovative crop care solutions.

In field studies of silica nanoparticles with tomatoes and potatoes, silica nanoparticles with their fertilizer payloads decreased the stress of saline soils and increased the rate of photosynthesis.

Regen Ag and the Power of Nanoparticles

At ST Biologicals, we’re committed to revolutionizing crop protection and fertilizer efficiency. We see nanoparticle technology as a powerful tool for enhancing crop yields, improving soil health, and benefitting beneficial microorganisms.

The controlled release and nutrient uptake of ag inputs while decreasing the side effects on the environment is a win in more ways than one. The cost of production by United States farmers in 2023 is estimated to be over $460 billion. According to the US Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry, the largest input costs were fertilizers, financing, crop protection, livestock, and fuel.

Farmers saw a 78 percent increase in fertilizer costs and a 66 percent increase in pesticides. The same report estimates commodity price declines of 15-30 percent for all commodity crops. This isn’t a pretty picture.

But with nanoparticle technology agricultural producers can decrease inputs and improve the long-term profitability of the ranch and farm. We’re here to answer questions and help your farm become the best it can be. Contact us today.