Urea-doped calcium phosphate nanoparticles as sustainable nitrogen nanofertilizers for viticulture: Implications on yield and quality of pinot gris grapevines

In recent years, the application of nanotechnology for the development of new “smart fertilizers” is regarded as one of the most promising solutions for boosting a more sustainable and modern grapevine cultivation. Despite showing interesting potential benefits over conventional fertilization practices, the use of nanofertilizers in viticulture is still underexplored. In this work, we investigated the effectiveness of non-toxic calcium phosphate nanoparticles (Ca3 (PO4 )2·nH2 O) doped with urea (U-ACP) as a nitrogen source for grapevine fertilization. Plant tests were performed for two years (2019–2020) on potted adult Pinot gris cv. vines grown under semi-controlled conditions. Four fertilization treatments were compared: N1: commercial granular fertilization (45 kg N ha−1 ); N2: U-ACP applied in fertigation (36 kg N ha−1 ); N3: foliar application of U-ACP (36 kg N ha−1 ); C: control, receiving no N fertilization. Plant nitrogen status (SPAD), yield parameters as well as those of berry quality were analyzed. Results here presented clearly show the capability of vine plants to recognize and use the nitrogen supplied with U-ACP nanoparticles either when applied foliarly or to the soil. Moreover, all of the quali–quantitative parameters measured in vine plants fed with nanoparticles were perfectly comparable to those of plants grown in conventional condition, despite the restrained dosage of nitrogen applied with the nanoparticles. Therefore, these results provide both clear evidence of the efficacy of U-ACP nanoparticles as a nitrogen source and the basis for the development of alternative nitrogen fertilization strategies, optimizing the dosage/benefit ratio and being particularly interesting in a context of a more sustainable and modern viticulture.