Fertilizer or fertilizer is a comprehensive term for materials and material mixtures, which serve to obtain higher yields or faster growth with cultivated plants. A basic principle of the fertilization follows the liebigschen minimum law.

Most important components of a fertilizer are usually the main feeding elements nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K), since a lack of these nutrients limits plant growth many soils. These fertilizer components are separated or offered in mixtures, which should become as fair as possible the requirements of the respective cultivated plants. Fertilizers, which nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium contain, are called NPK fertilizers. In second line fertilizers contain also sulfur, calcium and magnesium. Finally plants need also trace elements, which can occur in fertilizers.

Simplified one can say that nitrogen serves the production of sheet mass, phosphorus serves for to the bloom and fruit formation, potassium strengthens the wood formation and plant statics, magnesium promotes the nutrient admission.

The occasionally circulating expression artificial fertilizer is frequently wrongly used. Linguistically it refers organic to synthetically manufactured fertilizers, like mineral. However sometimes the term is used as synonym only for mineral fertilizers, synthesized in which wrong acceptance, only mineral fertilizers.

Kinds of fertilizer

One differentiates between fertilizers at the kind, how the fertilizing material is bound:

Mineral fertilizers

In the inorganic fertilizer or mineral fertilizer the fertilizing elements are present in the form of salts. Inorganic fertilizers are synthesized usually, speak chemically manufactured, or more rarely in the mining industry won. They made a large productivity progress possible in the agriculture and were today frequently used very. The synthetic fertilizers are problematic considering the enormous energy expenditure with the production. Mineral leads besides to an enrichment of the poisonous and radioactive heavy metal uranium in the soil and thus in the food chain, since phosphate and uranium are chemically closely together bound. Besides it comes to an enrichment of the likewise poisonous heavy metal cadmium, which arrives over the plants into the human food chain. There are today procedures to remove cadmium from phosphate ores however this from cost reasons and lack of legal defaults are only isolated used.

The use of mineral fertilizers can take place in granulates or powder form, frequently as phosphate or sulfate or in liquid form. Even an admission over the sheets is limited possible.

Inventor of the mineral fertilizers and/or artificial fertilizers is Justus of Liebig.

The fertilization with gaseous carbon dioxide (CO2) is an important application in the Unterglasgartenbau. Reason is the CO2-Mangel resulting from photo-synthetic consumption with insufficient supply at fresh air, particularly in the winter when closed ventilation, because plants need CO2 as basic substance. The carbon dioxide is brought in either directly as pure gas (relatively expensive) or as Verbrennungsprodukt made of propane or natural gas (coupling of fertilization and heating). The possible yield increase depends on how strong the lack of CO2 is and how strong the light offer for the plants is.

Organic fertilizers

With the organic fertilizers are or were bound the fertilizing elements at carbon. In addition, organic fertilizers are normally animal or vegetable origin, can be synthesized (e.g. Urea). They unfold their effect more on a long-term basis and are less fast washed than mineral. A characteristic number for the effect speed is the C/N quotient, the relationship from carbon to nitrogen. The larger the characteristic number is, the more slowly works the fertilizer.

Organic fertilizers are usually waste materials from the agriculture, which can be reused; this can lead to closed cycles.

Examples of organic fertilizers:

• Liquid manure
• Liquid manure
• Muck
• Guano
• Kompostierte of Pflanzenreste
• Blood flour
• Fish flour
• Bone flour
• Horn splinters
• Urea

Advantages of fertilizing

The agricultural yields necessary for the nutrition of the Menschens are increased by fertilization clearly. The Bodelebewesen and micro organisms are fed by the fertilization, which are the mineral materials in the soil make plant available.

Driven the over fertilizing

In the case of to strong yield of fertilizers the danger exists that the soil is unfavorably changed over-fertilized (Eutrophierung) and thus the Bodenfauna, which goes again debited to the yields and the quality of the harvest.

Besides the fertilizer components not taken up by the plants are out-washed into the groundwater and can endanger its quality thereby. Besides the feed-salt-rich water, if it arrives in surface waters, leads to an offer in excess at mineral materials, which can lead oxygen deficiency in the depth water to alga blooms and so caused by lakes.

This problem exists particularly in areas of intensive agricultural use with high cattle trimming (e.g. in the cathedral country and in southwest Lower Saxony) and places the water supply there before substantial problems. Purpose of the yield of liquid manure and muck is the increase of the yield here less, than a disposal of the mast enterprises.

If the cultures are too strongly fertilized, the yields can sink, it apply the plants optimally to thus fertilize. The farmers can let their soil examine, and on the basis the soil sample analysis the fertilization standard correct.

Fertilization influence on the soil

Influences on chemical and physical soil characteristics

A set of fertilizers (in particular N-fertilizers) contribute to the Bodenversauerung. This can lead without compensation measure to an impairment of structure conditions in the soil. By well-planned fertilization measures can be worked against however to dropping the soil reaction, so that unfavorable effects on nutrient dynamics, soil organism and soil structure are not to be feared.

Influence on soil organisms

The sinking of the pH value and a superelevated salt concentration can impair the soil life. In addition the activity of N-binding bacteria decreases/goes back with rising N-fertilization. Altogether a sufficient soil supply of organic and mineral fertilizers promotes the quantity and variety of the soil organisms. These affect crucially the soil fertility. With normal mineral fertilization the earthworm density remains to a large extent stable. The earthworm trimming is promoted by economiceconomics fertilizers.

Enrichment with heavy metals

Over the enrichment of the soil with heavy metals by mineral fertilization there are frequently wrong conceptions. Of in the agriculture and in the horticulture used mineral fertilizers some contain a small natural cadmium content. The cadmium load of the soil by is however small with usual fertilization so that the enrichment is analytically hardly provable after mineral fertilization. To an unwanted enrichment with heavy metals fertilization of many years and intensive with secondary raw materials (e.g. sewage sludge) can lead. For this reason the sewage sludge and the soil must be examined during sewage sludge yield for agricultural surfaces both. The influences of the fertilization on the chemical and physical soil characteristics are correctable by certain field and plant-structural measures. In the comparison to it an enrichment with heavy metals is unchangeable, since heavy metals are hardly washed and the withdrawal by the plants are only small. The soil fertility is damaged by too high heavy metal contents in the soil on a long-term basis.

Articles in category "Fertilizer"

We found here 26 articles.