Agriculture at the global level is coming under increasing strain to increase its production and decrease environmental damage. The traditional approach of fertilizers uses nutrients inefficiently, where most of the nutrients are wasted through leaching, volatilization and denitrification before the crop plants can utilize them. Nutrient use efficiency (NUE) for nitrogen is never greater than 35 per cent to 40 per cent. With the use of smart fertilizers like controlled-release, slow-release, nano-fertilizers, and stabilization of formulations, this issue is being minimized by matching nutrient supply with crop demands.