Fertilizers

What is a fertilizer?

Fertilizers enhance the growth and productiveness of plants. Fertilizers enhance the natural fertility of the soil or replace the chemical elements taken from the soil by previous crops.

Fertilizer definition = A fertilizer is a natural or synthetic, chemical-based substance that is used to provide plant nutrients to enhance plant growth and fertility.

Fertilizers may also enhance water retention and filter any excess liquid, hence enhancing soil effectiveness.

There are two types of fertilizer, organic or non-organic. Whilst an organic fertilizer can only contain plant or animal matter, excreta or compost/plant residue from natural processes, a non-organic fertilizer is manufactured to meet the nutrient needs of the plant.

Fertilizers play an important role in providing crops with the nutrients they need to grow and be harvested for nutritious food.

What is fertilizer used for?

All the nutrients in our food basically come from the soil. In order to create healthy crops full of nutrients, farmers need to work with healthy soil.

When soil nutrients are missing or in short supply, plants suffer from nutrient deficiency and stop growing.

Fertilizers are plant nutrients applied to agricultural fields to supplement required elements found naturally in the soil.

Farmers turn to fertilizers because these substances contain plant nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.

The manufacture, sale, and transportation of plant fertilizers are heavily regulated.

Common fertilizers

Soil amendments are made by adding soil fertilizers but there are different types of fertilizers.

Urea – Urea usually is available to the public in a white, crystalline, organic form. It is a highly concentrated nitrogenous fertilizer and quite hygroscopic. This means that this fertilizer can be quite difficult to apply.

Ammonium Nitrate - Ammonium Nitrate is a solid fertilizer normally applied in granular form, ammonium nitrate provides substantial amounts of nitrogen to the soil.

Calcium Nitrate - Calcium Nitrate provides both calcium and nitrogen. It is usually applied as a dissolved solution, allowing for quicker plant uptake but may also be applied as side or top dressing.

Diammonium Phosphate - Diammonium phosphate is the world’s most widely used phosphorus fertilizer. It’s made from two common constituents in the fertilizer industry, and its relatively high nutrient content and excellent physical properties make it a popular choice in farming and other industries.

Monoammonium phosphate - Monoammonium phosphate is a widely used source of phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N).* It’s made of two constituents common in the fertilizer industry and contains the most phosphorus of any common solid fertilizer.

Triple Super Phosphate - Triple Super Phosphate fertilizer is composed of inorganic nutrients that are used to restore soil components essential for farming.

Potassium Nitrate - Potassium Nitrate is a great source of potassium because of its nutritional value and the contribution it has made to the health of plants as well as yields.

Potassium Chloride - Potassium Chloride is one of the main forms of straight potassium fertilizer, as it has a higher potassium content than other fertilizers and dissolves readily.

Fertilizer equipment

Common equipment that is used for handling bulk fertilizer includes:

• Solid fertilizer Blending
• Fertilizer handling equipment
• Bagging systems for fertilizers
• Thermal processing equipment for fertilizers
• Agglomeration equipment for fertilizers