Fertilizers

What is a fertilizer?
A fertilizer is defined as a material that
primarily adds nutrients to the soil.

There are two main types of fertilizers: Organic

and Synthetic. Organic fertilizers contain only
organic materials while synthetic fertilizers
contain chemicals, which are more efficiently
used by plants.

Most large-scale crop producers use synthetic

fertilizers to increase their economic gain by
more efficiently supplying their crops with the
nutrients they need.
Inorganic Nitrogen Fertilizers
Created through Haber-Bosch process
Combine N2 and H2 under high temperature and pressure to create
NH3 gas
Anhydrous ammonia will boil & volatilize under normal atmospheric
conditions
Compression and refrigeration turn it to liquid
Applied by injection into to soil to minimize losses into the air
Other Inorganic N Sources
 Advantages of chemical fertilizers

Chemical fertilizer can be made much faster unlike the natural fertilizer.
Chemical fertilizers have smaller bulk and hence are easy to store,
transport and apply.
Chemical fertilizers are nutrient specific. Thus for supplying a
particular nutrient we can select some specific chemical fertilizer. For
example, super phosphate is used in case the soil is deficient in
phosphorus.
Chemical fertilizers are soluble in water and hence are easily
absorbed by plants.
It has much more NPK, usually around 20 to 60 percent, natural fertilizer
usually only has a max. of about 14 percent.
 Disadvantages of Chemical Fertilizers

The excessive use of nitrogenous fertilizers concentrates nitrates in the

soil and water. Nitrate rich water is unfit for drinking, and is rather difficult
to treat.
The excessive use of fertilizers causes EUTROPHICATION. which
destroys the life supporting environment in lakes and ponds.
The excessive use of fertilizers over a long period may affect the alkalinity
or acidity of the soil and may adversely affect the crop production.
Other than NPK it contains inert filler and maybe some unnesesary
chemicals.
Puts acid in the soil
It degrades ecosytems
 EUTROPHICATION

The nutrient enrichment of an aquatic

ecosystem.
Natural Eutrophication -- a process that
occurs as a lake or river ages over a period
of hundreds or thousands of years.
Cultural Eutrophication -- a process that
occurs when humans release excessive
amounts of nutrients; it shortens the rate
of aging to decades.
Natural Eutrophication

Lake classification based on nutrient

content and production of organic
matter.
Oligo- nutrient poor;
meso- middle nutrient;
eu- nutrient rich.
 Nutrients Stimulate Algal Blooms

Nitrogen and
phosphorus from
runoff and effluents
or decay of organic
matter stimulates
aquatic plant growth.
In particular, algal
blooms give the
water a green or
blue-green color.
 Effects of Eutrophication
Increased biomass of phytoplankton
Decreases in water transparency (increased turbidity)
Colour, smell, and water treatment problems
Dissolved oxygen depletion
Increased incidences of fish kills
Loss of desirable fish species
Reductions in harvestable fish and shellfish
Decreases in perceived aesthetic value of the water body
Decreases biodiversity,
Changes in species composition and dominance
toxicity effects