INTRODUCTION

Fertilizer (or fertiliser) is any organic or 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 growth of plants. Conservative estimates report 30 to 50% of crop yields
are attributed to natural or synthetic
commercial

fertilizer. European

fertilizer market is expected to grow to

15.3 billion by 2018.
Mined inorganic fertilizers have been
used for many centuries, whereas
chemically

synthesized

inorganic

fertilizers were only widely developed

during

the industrial

revolution.

Increased understanding and use of

fertilizers were important parts of the pre-industrial British Agricultural Revolution and the
industrial Green Revolution of the 20th century.
Inorganic fertilizer use has also significantly supported global population growth it has
been estimated that almost half the people on the Earth are currently fed as a result of
synthetic nitrogen fertilizer use.
Fertilizers typically provide, in varying proportions:

six
macronutrients: nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium
(Mg), and sulfur (S);

eight
micronutrients: boron (B), chlorine (Cl), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), molyb
denum (Mo), zinc (Zn) and nickel (Ni) (1987).

The macronutrients are consumed in larger quantities and are present in plant tissue in
quantities from 0.15% to 6.0% on a dry matter (0% moisture) basis (DM). Micronutrients

are consumed in smaller quantities and are present in plant tissue on the order of parts per
million (ppm), ranging from 0.15 to 400 ppm DM, or less than 0.04% DM.
Only three other macronutrients are required by all plants: carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.
These nutrients are supplied by water and carbon dioxide.

Forms
Fertilizers come in various forms. The most typical form is solid fertilizer in granulated or
powdered forms. The next most common form is liquid fertilizer; some advantages of liquid
fertilizer are its immediate effect and wide coverage.
There are also slow-release fertilizers (various forms including fertilizer spikes, tabs, etc.)
which reduce the problem of "burning" the plants due to excess nitrogen. Polymer coating
of fertilizer ingredients gives tablets and spikes a 'true time-release' or 'staged nutrient
release' (SNR) of fertilizer nutrients.
More recently, organic fertilizer is on the rise as people are resorting to environmental
friendly (or 'green') products. Although organic fertilizers usually contain a lower
concentration of nutrients, this lower concentration avoids complication of nitrogen burn
harming the plants. In addition, organic fertilizers such as compost and worm castings
break down slowly into complex organic structures (humus) which build the soil's structure
and moisture- and nutrient-retaining capabilities.

Inorganic commercial fertilizer

Fertilizers are broadly divided into organic fertilizers (composed of organic plant or
animal matter), or inorganic or commercial fertilizers. Plants can only absorb their
required nutrients if they are present in easily dissolved chemical compounds. Both organic
and inorganic fertilizers provide the same needed chemical compounds. Organic fertilizers
provided other macro and micro plant nutrients and are released as the organic matter

decaysthis may take months or years. Organic fertilizers nearly always have much lower
concentrations of plant nutrients and have the usual problems of economical collection,
treatment, transportation and distribution.
Inorganic fertilizers nearly always are readily
dissolved and unless added have few other
macro and micro plant nutrients. Nearly all
nitrogen that plants use is in the form of
NH3 or

NO3 compounds.

The

usable

phosphorus compounds are usually in the form of

phosphoric acid (H3PO4) and the potassium (K) is
typically in the form of potassium chloride (KCl). In
organic fertilizers nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium compounds are released from the
complex organic compounds as the animal or plant matter decays. In commercial fertilizers
the same required compounds are available in easily dissolved compounds that require no
decaythey can be used almost immediately after water is applied. Inorganic fertilizers
are usually much more concentrated with up to 64% (18-46-0) of their weight being a given
plant nutrient, compared to organic fertilizers that only provide 0.4% or less of their weight
as a given plant nutrient.[11]
Nitrogen fertilizers are often made using the Haber-Bosch process (invented about 1915)
which uses natural gas (CH4+) for the hydrogen and nitrogen gas (N 2) from the air at an
elevated temperature and pressure in the presence of a catalyst to form ammonia (NH3) as
the end product. This ammonia is used as a feedstock for other nitrogen fertilizers, such
as anhydrous ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) and urea(CO(NH2)2). These concentrated
products may be diluted with water to form a concentrated liquid fertilizer (e.g. UAN).
Deposits

of

sodium

nitrate

(NaNO3)

(saltpeter)

are

also

found

the Atacama

desert in Chileand was one of the original (1830) nitrogen rich inorganic fertilizers used. It
is still mined for fertilizer.

Controlled-release types
Urea and formaldehyde, reacted together to produce sparingly soluble polymers of various
molecular weights, is one of the oldest controlled-nitrogen-release technologies, having
been first produced in 1936 and commercialized in 1955. The early product had 60 percent
of the total nitrogen cold-water-insoluble, and the unreacted (quick release) less than 15%.
Methylene ureas were commercialized in the 1960s and 1970s, having 25 and 60% of the
nitrogen cold-water-insoluble, and unreacted urea nitrogen in the range of 15 to 30%.
Isobutylidene diurea, unlike the methylurea polymers, is a single crystalline solid of
relatively uniform properties, with about 90% of the nitrogen water-insoluble.
In the 1960s, the National Fertilizer Development Center began developing Sulfur-coated
urea; sulfur was used as the principle coating material because of its low cost and its value
as a secondary nutrient.[17]Usually there is another wax or polymer which seals the sulfur;
the slow release properties depend on the degradation of the secondary sealant by soil
microbes as well as mechanical imperfections (cracks, etc.) in the sulfur. They typically
provide 6 to 16 weeks of delayed release in turf applications. When a hard polymer is used
as the secondary coating, the properties are a cross between diffusion-controlled particles
and traditional sulfur-coated.
Other coated products use thermoplastics (and sometimes ethylene-vinyl acetate and
surfactants, etc.) to produce diffusion-controlled release of urea or soluble inorganic
fertilizers. "Reactive Layer Coating" can produce thinner, hence cheaper, membrane
coatings by applying reactive monomers simultaneously to the soluble particles. "Multicote"
is a process applying layers of low-cost fatty acid salts with a paraffin topcoat.
Application
Synthetic fertilizers are commonly used for growing all crops, with application rates
depending on the soil fertility, usually as measured by a soil test and according to the
particular crop. Legumes, for example, fix nitrogen from the atmosphere and generally do
not require nitrogen fertilizer.

Studies have shown that application of nitrogen fertilizer on off-season cover crops can
increase the biomass (and subsequent green manure value) of these crops, while having a
beneficial effect on soil nitrogen levels for the main crop planted during the summer
season.[19]
Nutrients in soil can be thrown out of balance with high concentrations of fertilizers. The
interconnectedness and complexity of this soil food web means any appraisal of soil
function must necessarily take into account interactions with the living communities that
exist within the soil. Stability of the system is reduced by the use of nitrogen-containing
fertilizers, which cause soil acidification.
Applying excessive amounts of fertilizer has negative environmental effects, and wastes
the growers' time and money. To avoid over-application, the nutrient status of crops should
be assessed. Nutrient deficiency can be detected by visually assessing the physical
symptoms of the crop. Nitrogen deficiency, for example has a distinctive presentation in
some species. However, quantitative tests are more reliable for detecting nutrient
deficiency before it has significantly affected the crop. Both soil tests and Plant Tissue
Tests are used in agriculture to fine-tune nutrient management to the crops needs.
Problems with inorganic fertilizer
Water pollution
The nutrients, especially nitrates, in fertilizers can cause problems for natural habitats and
for human health if they are washed off soil into watercourses or leached through soil into
groundwater. In Europe these problems are being addressed by the European Union's
Nitrates Directive.[21] Within Britain farmers are encouraged to manage their land more
sustainably in 'catchment-sensitive farming'

Contamination with impurities

Common agricultural grade phosphate fertilizers usually contain impurities such as
fluorides, cadmium and uranium, although concentrations of the latter two heavy
metals are dependent on the source of the phosphate and the production process. These
potentially harmful impurities can be removed; however, this significantly increases cost.
Highly pure fertilizers are widely available and perhaps best known as the highly water
soluble fertilizers containing blue dyes used around households. These highly water
soluble fertilizers are used in the plant nursery business and are available in larger
packages at significantly less cost than retail quantities. There are also some inexpensive
retail granular garden fertilizers made with high purity ingredients.
Oregon and Washington in U. S. have fertilizer registration programs with on-line
databases listing chemical analyses of fertilizers. [23][24]
The most widely used inorganic fertilizer is super-phosphate and its double and triple
strengthed derivatives double super and triple super. Super phosphate was first developed
by Lawes at the Rothamstead Agricultural Research Institute in England in the early 19th
Century.[25] Lawes added sulfuric acid to conventional rock phosphate containing the
mineral apatite, a calcium fluorophosphate. The resulting water soluble
phosphorus was able to significantly
improve yields on a variety of crops
at the Rothamstead Centre and the
Superphosphate industry was born.
Unfortunately

over

decades

of

subsequent usage - it became clear

that the solubilisation of fluorine also
occurred in the process and this had
the same effect as the other halogen sterilants(chlorine, bromine, iodine) over time - soil
sterilization.

Fertilizer dependency
Effectively farmers unknowingly became 100% dependent on 'bought in' water soluble,
inorganic fertilizers since the sterilization of soil microflora including its mycorrhiza,
reduced the availability of other natural and trace minerals within the soil. This to some
extent explains the resurgence of interest in organic and particularly 'biodynamic' farming
systems

since

these

systems

replace the essential soil organisms so

essential to converting soil minerals
into plant available (but rarely water
soluble) nutrients.[27] They do this by
a variety of processes including
chelation

wher

eby

essential

minerals become plant available as measured by weak citric acid

extraction techniques. Hence the
citric acid solubility of phosphate rocks has emerged as a measure of plant availability and
enabled so-called 'reactive' phosphate rocks to be used as fertilizer minerals. These should
not be confused with high fluorine apatite rocks in which the fluoride content performs a
similar function to its role in hardening teeth enamel, i.e. immobilizing phosphorus. This
explains the oceanic origins of many of these high fluorine rocks (Christmas Island, Ocean
Island) since the fluorine absorbed from the sea has prevented what were originally
massive deposits of bird guano - from being leached from the coral based limestone rocks
on which they were originally deposited.

Soil acidification
Also regular use of acidulated fertilizers generally contribute to the accumulation of soil
acidity in soils which progressively increases aluminium availability and hence toxicity. The
use of

such

acidulated

fertilizers in t he
tropical

and

semi-tropical

regions

of

Indonesia

and

Malaysia

has

contributed to soil
degradation on a
large

scale

from

aluminium
which

can

toxicity,

only

be

countered by applications of limestone or preferably magnesian dolomite, which

neutralises acid soil pH and also provides essential magnesium.

Trace mineral depletion

Many inorganic fertilizers, particularly those based on superphosphate, may not
replace trace mineral elements in the soil which become gradually depleted by crops. This
depletion has been linked to studies which have shown a marked fall (up to 75%) in the
quantities of such minerals present in fruit and vegetables. [28] Explanations for this include
the early encouragement of so-called "luxury consumption" of trace elements as a result of
their acidulation and subsequent dissolution in soil water, by free sulphuric acid sourced
from superphosphate. This mechanism has also been identified as a possible causal agent

for take-up of the heavy metal cadmium from superphosphate based fertilizers. In Western
Australia deficiencies of zinc, copper, manganese, iron and molybdenum were identified as
limiting the growth of broad-acre crops and pastures in the 1940s and 1950s. [29] Such
nutrients are described as 'rate limiting' nutrients. Soils in Western Australia are very old,
highly weathered and deficient in many of the major nutrients and trace elements. [29] Since
this time these trace elements are routinely added to inorganic fertilizers used in
agriculture in this state.[29]
Many soils around the world are deficient in zinc, leading to deficiency in plants and
humans

Overfertilization

Fertilizer burn
Over-fertilization of a vital nutrient can be as detrimental as underfertilization. "Fertilizer
burn" can occur when too much fertilizer is applied, resulting in drying out of the leaves and
damage or even death of the plant.
Fertilizers vary in their tendency to burn roughly in accordance with their salt index.

High energy consumption

In the USA in 2004, 317 billion cubic feet of natural gas was consumed in the
industrial production of ammonia, less than 1.5% of total U.S. annual consumption of
natural gas.[34] A 2002 report suggested that the production of ammonia consumes about
5% of global natural gas consumption, which is somewhat under 2% of world energy
production.[
Ammonia is overwhelmingly produced from natural gas, but other energy sources, together
with a hydrogen source such as water (via water splitting or electrolysis), can be used for
the production of nitrogen compounds suitable for fertilizers. The cost of natural gas makes
up about 90% of the cost of producing ammonia. The increase in price of natural gases
over the past decade, along with other factors such as increasing demand, have
contributed to an increase in fertilizer price.

Contribution to climate change

Nitrogen fertilizer can be converted by soil bacteria to nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas.

Impacts on mycorrhizas
High levels of fertilizer may cause the breakdown of the symbiotic relationships between
plant roots and mycorrhizal fungi.[

Lack of long-term sustainability

Inorganic fertilizers are now produced in ways which theoretically cannot be continued
indefinitely by definition as the resources used in their production are non-renewable.
Potassium and phosphorus come from mines (or saline lakes such as the Dead Sea) and
such resources are limited. However, more effective fertilizer utilization practices may
decrease present usage from mines. Improved knowledge of crop production practices can
potentially decrease fertilizer usage of P and K without reducing the critical need to
improve and increase crop yields. Atmospheric (unfixed) nitrogen is effectively unlimited
(forming over 70% of the atmospheric gases), but this is not in a form useful to plants. To
make nitrogen accessible to plants requires nitrogen fixation (conversion of atmospheric
nitrogen to a plant-accessible form).
Artificial nitrogen fertilizers are typically synthesized using fossil fuels such as natural gas
and coal, which are limited resources. In lieu of converting natural gas to syngas for use in
the Haber process, it is also possible to convert renewable biomass to syngas (or wood
gas) to supply the necessary energy for the process, though the amount of land and
resources (ironically often including fertilizer) necessary for such a project may be
prohibitive.
Organic fertilizer
Organic

fertilizers

include

naturally

occurring

organic

materials,

(e.g. chicken

litter, manure, worm castings, compost, seaweed, guano, bone meal) or naturally occurring
mineral deposits (e.g. saltpeter). Poultry litter and cattle manure often create environmental

and disposal problems, making their use as fertilizer beneficial. Bones can be processed
into phosphate-rich bone meal; however, most are simply buried in landfills.
Even if all bones, human, animal and plant wastes were recovered to the extent practical
and used for fertilizer, mineral fertilizers and synthetic nitrogen would still be required to
make for losses to leaching, to the atmosphere, runoff and the losses impractical to
recover

Comparison with inorganic fertilizer

Organic fertilizer nutrient content, solubility, and nutrient release rates are typically all lower
than inorganic fertilizers.[50][51] One study[which?] found that over a 140-day period, after
7 leachings:

Organic fertilizers had released between 25% and 60% of their nitrogen content

Controlled release fertilizers (CRFs) had a relatively constant rate of release

Soluble fertilizer released most of its nitrogen content at the first leaching

In general, the nutrients in organic fertilizer are both more dilute and also much less readily
available to plants. According to the University of California's integrated pest management
program, all organic fertilizers are classified as 'slow-release' fertilizers, and therefore
cannot cause nitrogen burn.[52]
Organic fertilizers from composts and other sources can be quite variable from one batch
to the next.[53] Without batch testing, amounts of applied nutrient cannot be precisely
known. Nevertheless, one or more studies have shown they are at least as effective as
chemical fertilizers over longer periods of use.

Examples of organic fertilizer

Chicken litter, which consists of chicken manure mixed with sawdust, is an organic fertilizer
that has been shown to better condition soil for harvest than synthesized fertilizer.
Researchers at the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) studied the effects of using
chicken litter, an organic fertilizer, versus synthetic fertilizers on cotton fields, and found
that fields fertilized with chicken litter had a 12% increase in cotton yields over fields
fertilized with synthetic fertilizer. In addition to higher yields, researchers valued
commercially sold chicken litter at a $17/ton premium (to a total valuation of $78/ton) over
the traditional valuations of $61/ton due to value added as a soil conditioner.[55]
Other ARS studies have found that algae used to capture nitrogen and phosphorus runoff
from agricultural fields can not only prevent water contamination of these nutrients, but
also can be used as an organic fertilizer. ARS scientists originally developed the "algal turf
scrubber" to reduce nutrient runoff and increase quality of water flowing into streams,
rivers, and lakes. They found that this nutrient-rich algae, once dried, can be applied to
cucumber and corn seedlings and result in growth comparable to that seen using synthetic
fertilizers.[56]
Examples

Compost

Rock phosphate

Bone meal

Manure

Alfalfa

Wood chips

Raw Langbeinite

Cover crops

Unprocessed natural potassium sulfate

Rock powder

Ash[59]

Blood meal

Fish meal

Fish emulsion

BIBILIOGRAPHY

www.google.co.in

www.wikipeida.com
www.cbse.co.in
www.studymaterial.com
Some material collected from books and
library