ReviewMolecules (Basel, Switzerland)2026
Controlled-Release Fertilizers: Innovations, Challenges, and Practical Applications.
Review in Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Ensuring high crop productivity while reducing nutrient losses and environmental impacts remains a central challenge of modern fertilization strategies. Controlled-release fertilizers (CRFs) have emerged as a key tool to synchronize nutrient availability with plant demand by embedding soluble nutrient sources within coatings or matrices that modulate water penetration and ion diffusion. This narrative review synthesizes recent advances in CRF materials and technologies, with particular emphasis on biodegradable and bio-based systems, hydrogels, nanostructured carriers, and extrusion-based matrix formulations. It outlines the main classes of coating and matrix materials, their release mechanisms, agronomic performance, and documented benefits for nutrient-use efficiency, crop yield and quality, and soil and water protection. The review also analyzes major scientific, technical, environmental, and economic barriers that currently limit the large-scale deployment of CRFs, including microplastic pollution from persistent polymer coatings and the difficulty of tailoring release profiles under variable field conditions. Emerging directions are highlighted, such as composite and multilayer bio-based coatings, superhydrophobic and stimuli-responsive structures, biochar- and compost-based matrices, nutrient recovery from waste streams, and integration with precision agriculture and sensor technologies. The paper identifies priorities for future research needed to translate promising CRF concepts into robust, field-validated and sustainable fertilization solutions.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.