Fertilizer

Introduction

Fertilizer is a kind of substance that provides one or more essential nutrients for plants and improves soil properties, which is one of the material bases of agricultural production. The fertilizer contains the essential nutrients required by the plants, including nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, and etc. They enhance the water retention capacity of the soil and also increase its fertility. A modern agricultural chemistry believes that to keep soil fertility and increase agricultural productivity, the nutrients like inorganic nutrients and nitrogen taken up by plants and crops from the soil must be returned to the soil in the form of fertilizer. Therefore, fertilizer is of great significance in global agricultural production.

Type of Fertilizer

Fertilizer can be classified as mineral fertilizer and organic fertilizer.

Mineral fertilizer. Mineral fertilizers, also known as chemical fertilizers since they are manufactured by the chemical fertilizer industry, mainly include the following types:

• Nitrogen fertilizer. It contains nitrogen necessary for the development of crops, in which nitrogen is the main constituent of chlorophyll that maintains a balance in the process of photosynthesis and is also a part of amino acids in plants. Therefore, nitrogen fertilizer improves the production and quality of agricultural products. Almost all nitrogen fertilizer is synthesized from nitrogen gas (N₂) through the Haber–Bosch process.
• Phosphorus fertilizer. The main nutrient in phosphorus fertilizer is phosphorus, and phosphorus found in the protoplasm of the cell plays an important role in cell growth and proliferation. Therefore, the phosphorus fertilizer is beneficial for the growth of roots of the plants. Phosphate fertilizer is derived from the acid attack of natural rocks.
• Potassium fertilizer. It mainly includes potassium chloride and potassium sulfate and provides potassium for plants. Potassium is closely related to many metabolic processes in plants, such as photosynthesis, respiration and the synthesis of carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Therefore, potassium fertilizer is beneficial for quality of crop products. Potassium fertilizer is refined from deposits of soluble potassium salts (e.g., potash ores and brines).

Organic fertilizer. Organic fertilizers are also known as natural fertilizers. It provides carbonic compounds essential for plant growth. Organic fertilizers can increase the organic matter content of the soil, promote the reproduction of microorganisms, and change the physical and chemical properties of the soil. It is considered to be one of the main nutrients for green food. Most organic fertilizers originate from animal manures — either from the feces and urine of livestock animals or from the feces of poultry, alone or mixed with bedding material (e.g., farmyard manure, chicken litter). Other sources include plant residues, industrial waste and municipal sludge, and organic by-products.

Fig. 1. The sources of organic fertilizer.

Importance of Fertilizer

Limited in global resource, coupled with the loss of soil fertility and nutrients, make it very difficult to the demands of the increasing population. The situation has increased the importance of fertilizer in agriculture. The importance of fertilizer is mainly featured in following aspects.

• Fertilizers increase tolerance of plants towards pests. This has reduced the reliance of insecticides and herbicides, thereby, producing healthier crops.
• Fertilizers improve the water holding capacity of the plants and increase root depth.
• Fertilizers increase the crop yield and provide enough food to feed the large population.
• Fertilizers can restore soil fertility and keep the soil in good condition.

Alfa Chemistry can offer various fertilizers. If you have any needs, please contact us.