CHEMICAL FERTILISERS

WHAT ARE CHEMICAL FERTILISERS?

A chemical fertilizer is a substance applied to soils or directly onto plants to provide nutrients optimal for their growth and development. The essential (NPK), as well as other nutritional substances in smaller amountsall presented in a form that can easily be absorbed and metabolized by nutrients contained in these fertilizers are nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium

plants. Chemical fertilizers have become a staple in many yards and gardens, and can be a key on for some basic information on chemical in your yard. Fertilizer is any organic or component of a healthy lawn care routine. Read fertilizer and how you can use it most effectively inorganic material of natural or synthetic origin (other than liming materials) that is added to a soil to supply one or more plant nutrients essential to the attributed to natural or synthetic commercial fertilizer. European fertilizer market is expected to grow to 15.3 billion by 2018. growth of plants. Conservative estimates report 30 to 50% of crop yields are

WHY DO PLANTS NEED FERTILISRS?

In order for a plant to grow and thrive, it needs a number of different chemical elements. The most important are:

Carbon, hydrogen and oxygen - Available from air and water and therefore in plentiful supply

Nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium (a.k.a. potash) - The three macronutrients and the three elements you find in most packaged fertilizers Sulfur, calcium, and magnesium - Secondary nutrients Micronutrients

Boron, cobalt, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum and zinc -

The most important of these (the ones that are needed in the largest quantity by a Cells Work and How Food Works, you have heard about things like amino acids, cell membranes and ATP. Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are important because they are necessary for these basic building blocks. For example:

plant) are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. If you have read the articles How

Every amino acid contains nitrogen.

Every molecule making up every cell's membrane contains phosphorous (the membrane molecules are called

phospholipids), and so does every molecule of ATP (the main energy source of all cells).

Potassium makes up 1 percent to 2 percent of is essential to metabolism.

the weight of any plant and, as an ion in cells,

Without nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, the plant simply cannot grow because it cannot make the pieces it needs. It's like a car factory running out of steel or a road crew running out of asphalt.

If any of the macronutrients are missing or hard to obtain from the soil, this will limit the growth rate for the plant. In nature, the nitrogen, phosphorous

and potassium often come from the decay of plants that have died. In the case of nitrogen, the recycling of nitrogen from dead to living plants is often the only source of nitrogen in the soil.

To make plants grow faster, what you need to do is supply the elements that the

plants need in readily available forms. That is the goal of fertilizer. Most fertilizers supply just nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium because the other chemicals are needed in much lower quantities and are generally available in most soils. Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium availability is the big limit to growth.

How Does Fertilizer Work?

There is an old saying that you are what you eat. the proper nutrients, plants will not grow and comes from the nutrients in the soil or from commercial fertilizer.

This is as true of plants as it is of humans. Without produce as expected. For plants, proper nutrition

Water soluble fertilizers are designed to mix with water and applied

directly to the plant with a hose or sprayer. This type of fertilizer is ideal for

foliar feeding but may also be applied to the leaves, plants are able to utilize the nutrients right away. Nutrients are directly to plant growth. Run off penetrates the soil and provides absorbed through the leaves and go

roots. By applying the mixed fertilizer to

nutrients that are absorbed by the roots.

Granular fertilizer is applied to the soil and must be mixed into the existing soil to prevent burning the young roots of growing plants. This formula breakdowns over a period of time when exposed to rainfall or regular watering. It may be applied prior to planting and during the growing season. Contact with leaves will cause plant damage.

Each of these fertilizer types comes in a premixed formula that consists of three main elements: nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, sometimes referred to as potash. The numbers indicated on the bag, such as 10-10which formula is right for you, you need a basic understanding of the effect each element has on plant growth.

10, represent the percentage of each element in the formula. To determine

Nitrogen works to promote lush green leaves and rapid growth. When applied at the right growth, but it is best applied early in the growing season, well before the onset of time, nitrogen will give your plants a boost in

blooming and fruit. If too much nitrogen is applied close to blooming time, you may sacrifice blooms and end up with lush

vegetation that fails to set fruit. A lack of nitrogen will result in yellowing or curling of older leaves and stunted growth.

Phosphorus promotes vigorous blooms and healthy plant cells. Apply a

fertilizer high in phosphorus just prior to blooming to encourage profuse deficiency may show signs of purpling along the veins.

blooms that are brimming with color. Plants suffering from a phosphorus

Potassium is needed to build a strong root system to support the plant's

growth and to maintain health. This is especially important for large plants that require vigorous root systems for support. A lack of potassium will result in stunted growth and general poor health.

ADVANTAGES OF CHEMICAL FERTILISERS

1. Chemical fertilizers have smaller bulk and hence are easy to store, transport and apply.

2. 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.

3. Chemical fertilizers are soluble in water and hence are easily absorbed by plants.

NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF CHEMICALS FERTILISERS

The biggest issue facing the use of chemical fertilizers is groundwater contamination. Nitrogen

fertilizers break down into nitrates and travel easily remain in groundwater for decades, the addition of more nitrogen over the years has an accumulative effect.

through the soil. Because it is water-soluble and can

At the University of Wisconsin, Madison, they discovered the effects of chemical altered immune, endocrine and nervous system functions in mice, as well as influence on children's and fetus's developing neurological, endocrine and patterns of aggression."

fertilizers are compounded when mixed with a single pesticide. They discovered

immune systems. These influences "portend change in ability to learn and in

One popular fertilizer, urea, produces ammonia emanation, contributes to acid

rain, groundwater contamination and ozone depletion due to release of nitrous oxide by gentrification process. With it's increased use and projections of future use, this problem may increase several fold in the coming decades.

Groundwater contamination has been linked to gastric cancer, goiter, birth malformations, and hypertension; testicular cancer and stomach cancer.

Excessive air- and water-borne nitrogen from fertilizers may cause respiratory ailments, cardiac disease, and several cancers, as well as can "inhibit crop growth, increase allergenic pollen production, and potentially affect the

dynamics of several vector-borne diseases, including West Nile virus, malaria, and cholera."

Perhaps one of the scariest effects of chemical fertilizers is something called methemoglobinemia. In infants it is

alternatively known as Blue Baby Syndrome. The risk most often occurs when infants are given formula reconstituted with nitrate

contaminated water. The condition causes a decrease in oxygen in the blood and results in a blue-grey skin color, causes lethargy and/or irritability and can lead to coma or death.111 I've been unable to find whether the same risk exists for breastfeeding babies whose mothers drank contaminated water.

Nitrogen groundwater contamination also contributes to marine "dead zones".

The increase in the water-soluble nitrates creates an influx of plant-life, which

eats up oxygen and starves out fish and crustaceans. This has an impact not only those areas.

on the aquatic ecosystem, but on local societies who depend on food sourced from

And then there is the highly questionable use of raw sewer sludge as a fertilizer. Yes, you heard me right. In some countries, raw, uncomforted and untreated human waste is applied directly to crops and soil, a practice known as "night soil" since it's typically applied at night. The risk of disease is obvious and high and this practice should never be confused with "humanure", a long, highly involved process of decomposing human waste into a safe resource.

What is organic fertilizer?

There are natural, organic fertilizers that aren't made by mixing chemicals together. Organic fertilizers are made by mixing natural ingredients, ingredients that are naturally high in N or P or K or all of them, and that also contain trace elements.

Chicken poor blood and bone meal or fish extract and things like that. They gobbledygook like growth factors, auxins , macromolecules, enzymes.

contain the NPK in varying ratios, and some trace elements, and maybe other

However, it's still easily possible to get the balance wrong, especially if you don't know what exactly is in that bag and what exactly your plants need.

Maybe it's theoretically possible to grow reasonably healthy kids on a diet like

that, if you do add enough different herb, fruit and vegetable extracts, in a high really understand what you are doing there, what EXACTLY the kids need!

quality form where most of the goodness in them is actually preserved. And if you

Harmful Effects of Fertilizers

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, most fertilizers contain about the same basic materials: nitrogen, potassium,

phosphorus and sometimes other nutrients, like zinc, needed for healthy plant growth. to their lawn and garden, but few people Many people use fertilizers to give extra life consider the potential drawbacks of these

fertilizers. In an effort to be as environmentally conscious as possible, it is benefits.

important to consider the potentially harmful effects of fertilizers as well as the

Human Carcinogens
The most significant harmful effects come from fertilizer that is designed to kill or prevent weeds. According to the EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs, 12 of the most popular pesticides in the United States have ingredients known to cause cancer. Organic fertilizers are guaranteed to be safe for the environment, the body and free of pesticides.

Water Pollution
While fertilizers may be beneficial to the plants, environment. Many of the "quick-release" they are not always as healthy for the rest of the fertilizers have been known to lead to oxygen

loss in waterways due to runoff into the street

and, as a result, into the water. High amounts of nitrogen can find their way into waterways in this way, causing an excess of algae and a resulting loss of oxygen in the water. This can have a negative effect on fish and other wildlife in the water.

Toxic Waste Potential

Many people do not realize that some fertilizers are made from the residuals of test positive for toxic waste. According to the federation of Public Interest waste water treatment facilities or recycled from other areas that cause them to Research Groups (PIRG), 29 popular fertilizers tested positive for 22 toxic heavy metals, including silver, nickel, selenium, thallium and vanadium. All of the metals found are health hazards. linked directly to human