Executive Summary : | India is the self-sufficient in food at present, owing to scientific and technological innovation led green and various other revolutions in agriculture and animal husbandry. However, modern high input led and profit-oriented agricultural systems have been created several challenges such as depletion of natural resources (mainly soil, air, and water), climate change, low factor productivity, multi micronutrient deficiencies, enhanced input cost, agri-produce quality concerns, and loss of biodiversity of agro-ecosystems. Food and fodder production is directly linked with high nutrient inputs in the form of appropriate carriers, like mineral fertilizers. Furthermore, application of huge quantity of inorganic fertilizers due to the low nutrient use efficiency over a long-term is also not a sustainable strategy to increase crop production. Contrary to great emphasis on agriculture during green revolution era, livestock sector has not been received much attention of S& T led innovations. This has reflected in poor animal productivity mainly due to the huge deficit of green fodder and other feed material which is estimated around 35.6%, 10.95% and 44% for green fodder, dry crop residues and concentrates feed materials, respectively. Such huge feed deficit is the resultant of limited land under fodder cultivation, imbalanced nutrition, low fertilizer use efficiency, low soil organic carbon and multi-micronutrient deficiencies etc. Among all these reasons, imbalanced fertilization is the very critical factor to be considered for nutrient management in fodder crops because these crops extract large quantity of nutrients from the soil. This eventually needs promising nutrient management strategies to enhance fodder production and improve the livestock production and profitability. Therefore, it is crucial to exploit possible options to enhance the per unit land productivity of fodder crops satisfy the forage demand of increasing population of livestock while preventing soil and environmental sustainability. Hybrid nanofertilizers are new emerging option for enhancing fertilizer use efficiency. The nanofertilizers provide a more surface area that facilitates crops to uptake nutrients in a control manner as per their requirement resulting improving nutrient use efficiency and decrease demand of synthetic fertilizers. No study has been done so far on evaluation of hybrid nanofertilizers on fodder productivity and quality. In light of above explained background, and rational, It is intended to develop hybrid nanofertilizers by integrating nanourea modified zeolite and hydroxyapatite nanoparticles into micronutrients (Cu, Zn, and Fe) nanoparticles for sustainable crop nutrition and quality fodder production. The aim of this study is to develop hybrid nanofertilizers and to understand its effect on fodder productivity, quality and soil health. Therefore, this approach is suitable for improving fodder productivity and to sustain agro-ecosystem sustainability. |