Sustainable options for fertilizer management in agriculture to prevent water contamination: a review

Synthetic fertilizers have been revolutionary in the way that the increased production of food crops has increased as a result of the application of synthetic fertilizers. Despite the fact that global N, P, and K consumption have increased from 64.9, 25.9, and 18.2 kg/ha in the year 2000 to 85.5, 33.2, and 20.4 kg/ha, respectively, they are still relatively low. Additionally, excessive use of inorganic fertilizers has also resulted in a deterioration of environmental systems, especially that of water resources. The presence of this toxic substance inside the human body is therefore due to the fact that it enters the body through the food chain and causes serious illnesses, such as cancer. For instance, in most countries, the maximum nitrate concentration for drinking water is restricted to between 45 and 50 mg/L. Besides promoting the use of chemicals and the application of fertilizers in farming, there should be a push to encourage the sustainable use of biofertilizers to protect the environment and human health. Composts that have been developed from various waste materials, such as poultry farms, dairy farms, and other sources, have proven to be very rich in N, P, and K. For example, compost generated from dairy farm wastes can provide a value of 45,100, 7300, and 9100 mg/kg of N, P, and K, respectively. In order to make the use of these biofertilizers in agriculture possible, it will be necessary to spread awareness among the farmers so that they can adopt the concepts of sustainable management in agriculture.