Controlled Release Fertilizers for Sustainable Agriculture

F.b. Lewu received his PhD in Botany with specialization in plant genetic conservation and propagation. Joining the Department of Agriculture, University of Zululand, South Africa as a Lecturer in 2008 he was appointed acting HOD, of the department in 2009; a position he held till end of May 2011, when he joined the Cape Peninsula University of Technology as HOD of Agriculture Department in the Faculty of Applied Sciences in 2011. Appointed Associate Professor in 2014 and obtaining C Rating of National Research Foundation (NRF C3 Rated Scholar) of South Africa during the same year, he is a qualified Professional Natural Scientist. His latest research interest is focused on the influence of nanomaterials and chemical elicitors on the efficacy of medicinal species and their ameliorating effects on biochemicals of screened materials through different propagation and screening methods. Tatiana Volova is a doctor of biological sciences in microbiology, Professor and head of the Department of Biotechnology at the Siberian Federal University. She is the creator and head of the Laboratory of Chemoautotrophic Biosynthesis in the Institute of Biophysics, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences. Professor Volova is conducting research in the field of physic-chemical biology and biotechnology and a well-known expert in the field of microbial physiology and biotechnology. Tatiana Volova has created and developed a new and original branch in chemoautotrophic biosynthesis, in which the two main directions of the XXI century technologies are conjugate, hydrogen energy and biotechnology. Tatiana Volova is the author of more than 300 scientific works, including 12 monographs, 16 inventions, and a series of textbooks for universities. Prof. Sabu Thomas is a globally renowned scientist and one of the leading researchers in polymer science and nanotechnology. He currently serves as Professor of Polymer Science & Engineering and was the former Vice Chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala, India. Prof. Thomas is internationally recognized for his pioneering work on polymer blends, nanocomposites, green materials, and sustainable polymers. Rakhimol R.K. is a researcher in International and Inter University Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, Kerala, India. She has received a bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology from Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, Kerala, India, master’s degree in Biotechnology from Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, Kerala, India and MPhil degree in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology from Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, Kerala, India. Now, Rakhimol is doing her PhD work at International and Inter university Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, Kerala, India. She is currently pursuing her research on nanoparticles and their effect on plants.

• 1. Controlled Release of Fertilizers for Sustainable Agriculture: State of the art, opportunities and novelty2. Conventional methods for fertilizer release3. Fate of the conventional fertilizers in environment4. Controlled release of fertilizers- concept, reality and mechanism5. Controlled and slow release fertilizers6. Characteristics and types of slow- and controlled-release fertilizers7. Methods for controlled release of fertilizers8. Manufacturing of slow- and controlled-release Fertilizers9. Factors controlling the release of fertilizers, Advantages and disadvantages of slow- and controlled-release fertilizers 10. Options for the application of slow- and controlled-release fertilizers, Consumption and economics of slow- and controlled-release of fertilizers11. Costs and benefits of slow- and controlled-release fertilizers, Sensors detecting controlled fertilizer release12. Trends and technologies behind controlled release fertilizers13. Nanotechnology in controlled release fertilizers14. Polymer formulations for controlled release of fertilizers15. Chemistry and toxicology behind chemical fertilizers, Theory and simulation modelling of controlled release of fertilizers16. Controlled release of organic fertilizers, Future of controlled release fertilizers