Fertilizers

Prepared by HafsahKhyati

Contents

o Introduction to fertilizerso Process of production Components usedo Types of fertilizerso Benefits o Harmful effects on environmento What's suitable for your soil?o What would the world be without fertilizers?o Uses

Introduction to fertilizers

• In the same way that humans need to eat properly to stay healthy, so plants need certain nutrients to grow properly.

• Fertilizer is a substance added to soil to improve plant’s growth and yield. Basically it is a chemical or natural substance is added to soil or land to increase its fertility.

• Fertilizers are food supplements for plants and need 16 nutrients to be healthy.

Process of Production• Entirely incorporated factories have been designed to

produce compound fertilizers. Each manufacturer works differently from the other and so the process may differ, but the main idea remains unchanged.

Step 1-The Production of Ammonia• Natural gas and steam are pumped into a large vessel. • Air is pumped into the system, and oxygen is removed this

leaves primarily nitrogen, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide.• The carbon dioxide is removed and ammonia is produced

by introducing an electric current into the system.• Any impurities are removed from the ammonia, and then

is further processed. Step 2- Ammonium nitrate is produced • Nitric acid and ammonia are mixed together in a tank and

a neutralization reaction occurs, producing ammonium nitrate.

Step 3-Production of Ammonium Phosphate • Phosphoric acid is reacted with ammonia in a separate tank. This

reaction results in ammonium phosphate Step 4-Production of Potassium Chloride • Potassium Hydroxide is reacted with hydrochloric acid to form

Potassium Chloride.• The Potassium chloride is converted into a more usable form by

granulating it. This makes it easier to mix with other components of a fertilizer.

Step 5- Granulation• To produce fertilizer in the most usable form, each of the

different compounds, ammonium nitrate, potassium chloride and ammonium phosphate are granulated and blended together.

• The solid materials are filled into a rotating drum which has an inclined axis. As the drum rotates, pieces of the solid fertilizer take on small spherical shapes.

• They are passed through a screen that separates out adequately sized particles.

• A coating of inert dust is then applied to the particles • And finally, the particles are dried, completing the granulation

process.

Step 6 - Bagging• The fertilizer is first delivered into a large hopper to fill these bags .• An appropriate amount is released from the hopper into a bag that

is held open by a clamping device.• When filling is complete, the bag is transported upright to a machine

that seals it closed. • The bag is then stacked for shipment to distributors and eventually

to farmers.

Types of fertilizersComplete vs. Incomplete• Contain all 3 primary nutrients of nitrogen,

phosphorus, & potassium. • DO NOT have all 3 primary nutrients.Soluble vs. insoluble • Dissolves in water & are applied as a liquid solution.• Includes granular & slow release fertilizers

applied to the growing media.Organic vs. Inorganic• Come from plant or animal matter & contain carbon

compounds. • Come from sources other than animals or plants.

Organic vs. inorganic fertilizersOrganic fertilizers

Organic fertilizers-Organic fertilizer is all natural and includes things such as bat guano, compost, peat moss, wood ash and manure. These are general soil amendments. They don't burn or harm plants, and they can have long-term positive effects on the soil without damaging groundwater.

Inorganic fertilizers

Inorganic fertilizers-Inorganic fertilizers are actually artificial or synthetic fertilizers. When plants are in dire need of nutrients because they are already dying, an inorganic fertilizer is the most immediate solution to infuse nutrients immediately to the plants.

Advantages and disadvantages of organic fertilizers

Organic fertilizers are beneficial in that they do not put additional stress on plants, poison the groundwater, or add artificial substances to the soil. However, they typically do not work as quickly as inorganics, as they need microbes to be broken down into components the plants can use. Organics work best when thinking about long term plant and soil development, keeping the soil fertile and nutritious for years to come.

Advantages of inorganic fertilizers

Major advantage to inorganic fertilizers is that they are prepared with all necessary ingredients. The all-inclusive nature of the inorganic compounds give the plants a quick, powerful dose of everything they need to thrive. As soon as the inorganics hit water, their nutrients are immediately released, in their broken down, usable form. In addition, inorganic fertilizers generally tend to be accessible and affordable.

Advantages and disadvantages of fertilizers

• Advantages of using organic fertilizers is that they are all natural, make the soil rich, transforms unhealthy soil, corrects imbalances and cost- effective.

• The disadvantages of using organic fertilizers are; takes longer time, high demand, low supply, simple but messy and inconvenient.

What’s suitable for your soil?•The choice of fertilizer that is used typically depends on the nature of the soil, such as whether it is acidic or alkaline; sandy, clay or rocky; and weak or rich.

Our world without fertilizers• Due to the increasing population of the world and the lack of necessary

chemical compounds in the soil, the use of fertilizers has become essential. Most organic growers use fertilizers too. But it comes from different ingredients, such as livestock manure or sewage.

• However, these natural fertilizers are not available in sufficient quantities to meet the demands of today’s high-yield farming, nor do they provide nutrients in the perfect balance made possible with commercial fertilizers and therefore cannot be used regularly. For example, using enough manure to provide the soil with an adequate supply of nitrogen would mean adding four to five times more potassium and phosphorus than a crop needs. So it’s easy to over or under fertilize in this type of farming.

• As well, organic crop yields are only one-third to one-half as high as those from farms using conventional fertilizers. So we’d need to turn millions of additional acres of land over to farming, and still end up with less food.

• Due to lack of food, hunger all around the world has been increasing lately. There are double the deaths this year compared to the past. To suffice world hunger, fertilizers are vital and necessary to grow plants and feed the ever increasing population.