Laura Siverio Martínez¹, Mayra González Hurtado^1,*, Laura M. Castro González², Jacques Rieumont Briones³, Ariel Martínez García¹, María I. Hernández Díaz⁴

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.88, No.4, pp. 459-470, 2019, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2019.07719

Abstract Fertilizers industry faces the challenge of improving the efficiency of its products either by optimizing the fertilizers in use or by developing new types of them. During the last decade, controlled and slow release technologies have become more important. These technologies aim to increase the efficiency of the applied substance by increasing its action over time and avoiding losses of all kinds (leaching, volatilization). The main purpose of the current study was to obtain a slow release biofertilizer by incorporating microalgae into a polymeric ureaformaldehyde matrix (PUFM). The quantitative analysis of macronutrients and micronutrients in the microalgae was determined using… More >

Noé Navarro-Guajardo¹, Edgar Miguel García-Carrillo², Carlos Espinoza-González^2,*, Rubén Téllez-Zablah¹, Fátima Dávila-Hernández², Jorge Romero-García², Antonio Ledezma-Pérez²

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.6, No.3, pp. 226-236, 2018, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634164

Abstract Efforts to improve crop yields with efficient use of fertilizers are needed to guarantee global food security. Enhanced slow-release fertilizer systems (SRFs) encapsulated in biodegradable matrices are being developed to address this global concern. From a wide range of strategies for SRFs development, we explored a nature-inspired solution based on the plant cuticle model and its function as a membrane for water and nutrient transport control. Here, Candelilla wax, extracted from Candelilla wild plants (Euphorbia antisyphilitica), is studied as a renewable slow-release matrix for fertilizers encapsulated by a modified spray chilling process. From this process, microencapsulates containing 40 wt% of… More >