Fertilizers are a concentration of plant nutrients that come in compact forms including granules, pellets, powders, and liquids. They are usually used to improve plant growth and yields.
Why use fertilizers?
Fertilizers help grow your plants faster. The faster the plants grow, the more they will benefit from the application of fertilizer. If your soil is healthy, you may not need to use fertilizers. But using a little bit of fertilizer can help produce a showier display of blooms as well as a higher yield of produce from edible crops.
What are fertilizers?
Fertilizers are a concentrated source of plant nutrients in organic or chemical form. Most fertilizers contain major plant nutrients that plants need in large amounts to grow properly. Some fertilizers contain trace elements required by plants in tiny amounts.
Product choice
Organic fertilizer is derived from plant and animal sources while inorganic fertilizer is synthetic and man-made. These are the two main types of fertilizers available today.
- Organic fertilizers – This type of fertilizer is derived from animal or plant sources and contains plant nutrients in organic form. Organic fertilizers are slower to act since large organic molecules should be broken down by organisms in the soil before the nutrients within these molecules are ready for plant use. Hoof & horn, seaweed, fish blood & bone, dried blood, bone meal, nettle feeds, liquid comfrey, and poultry manure pellets are some of the common examples of organic fertilizers.
- Inorganic fertilizers – Inorganic fertilizers are artificial and synthetic forms of plant nutrients as well as naturally-occurring minerals. They are more concentrated and act faster compared to organic fertilizers.
Modern agriculture pump requires products that deliver optimal performance from both an economic and ecological perspective. It works efficiently and sustainably, they have proven to be just as good at decanting, filtering, or metering fuels, additives, Adblue, fertilizers, and pesticides as the most important agricultural end product.
Organic and inorganic fertilizers can be found as the following types of products:
- Compound fertilizers – This is a mixture of different nutrients that may contain similar proportions of all major plant nutrients or supply some form of nutrient than others. They should be used as per the requirements of different crops. Compound fertilizers can be inorganic, organic, or contain both forms.
- Straight fertilizers – These fertilizers may contain mainly one nutrient. They can be used to provide different nutrients to plants during different times of the year. In fact, straight fertilizers are inorganic and can be used to correct particular nutrient deficiencies.
- Controlled-release fertilizers – These fertilizers are usually inorganic fertilizers coated with a porous material like synthetic resin or sulphur. When water enters the granule, the fertilizers will reach out to the surrounding soil. The warmer the soil, the faster the release is. Hence, plant growth will be faster in warm weather conditions.
- Slow-release fertilizers – These fertilizers degrade slowly – under the influence of soil micro-organisms that help release their nutrients. They are organic and are dependent on soil temperature. For example, bone meal and hoof and horn are some examples in this regard.
How to use fertilizers?
The method you choose to apply fertilizer will depend on the product you will be using. Here are some of the most common methods of fertilizer application:
- Base dressing – Incorporating fertilizer into the soil or potting compost before planting is known as base dressing.
- Top dressing – Top dressing is the application of fast-action fertilizers to the surface of the soil in order to stimulate plant growth. It is done in spring at the start of the growing season. Avoid leaf contact to prevent scorching and protect against over-application. Over-application may result in root damage and pollution of groundwater.
- Watering on – Liquid fertilizers are dissolved and watered into plant roots during the growing season. They are mostly used for feeding glasshouse crops or bleeding. The nutrients in these fertilizers are instantly available.