Disadvantages of Fertilizers

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Excessive air- and water-borne nitrogen from fertilizers may cause respiratoryailments, cardiac disease, and several cancers, as well as can "inhibit crop growth, increase allergenic pollen production, and potentially affect the dynamics of several vector-borne diseases, including West Nile virus, malaria, and cholera

1.  Crops grow better, but so do weeds. Therefore herbicide sprays are required too.
2.  Better quality plants attract insects so pesticides may be needed.
3. Excess nitrogen from fertilisers gets into water supplies, causing fish to die.
4. Chemicals need to be used safely. In poorer countries in particular, farmers can 
5. damage their health by applying fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides incorrectly.
6.  Artificial fertilisers, applied without organic additions, do not improve soil structure.

The biggest issue facing the use of chemical fertilizers is groundwater contamination. Nitorgen fertilizers break down into nitrates and travel easily through the soil. Because it is water-soluble and can remain in groundwater for decades, the addition of more nitrogen over the years has an accumulative effect.

Groundwater contamination has been linked to gastric cancer, goitre, birth malformations, and hypertension  testicular cancer and stomach cancer

And then there is the highly questionable use of raw sewer sludge as a fertilizer. Yes, you heard me right. In some countries, raw, uncomposted and untreated human waste is applied directly to crops and soil, a practice known as "night soil" since it's typically applied at night. The risk of disease is obvious and high  and this practice should never be confused with "humanure", a long, highly involved process of decomposing human waste into a safe resource.

Types of Fertilizers

Types of Fertilizers:

1. Organic Fertilizer
2. Inorganic Fertilizer
3. Chemical Nitrogenous Fertilizer
4. Phosphate Fertilizer
5. Potassium Fertilizer

Organic Fertilizer

Organic fertilizer is a great product because it is good for your garden now and later. It will help increase the direct yield of your plants as soon as you start fertilizing, and  also improve the health and long-term productivity of your soil

Most organic fertilizers are made with:

• animal manure plus
•   compost
•  seaweed
•   peat moss
•   mineral deposits
•   and other ingredients from nature

Inorganic Fertilizer:

Inorganic fertilizers are generally used to treat sizable industrial fields because they are cheaper and more easily produced on a large scale than inorganic fertilizer. Inorganic fertilizers are also less bulky than organic fertilizers, which allows the plant to carry nutrients more easily from the soil to its leaves and fruits.

Chemical Nitrogenous Fertilizer

The nutrients from the chemical nitrogenous fertilizer are then carried through the ground into the root system of the plant. Chemical nitrogenous fertilizers usually come in the form of white granules or pellets which are used to fertilize the soil before or during planting.

Phosphate Fertilizer

Phosphate fertilizer is good for acidic soils. Obtain organic phosphates or synthetic phosphate fertilizer depending on your needs. Bone meal is usually used to make organic phosphate fertilizer by grinding or steaming. Superphosphate is the chemical version of phosphate fertilizer.

 It comes in three grades: single, triple and dicalcium, and it is usually used during the sowing season.

Potassium Fertilizer

Potassium fertilizers work well in sandy soil to improve the quality of plants and vegetables by increasing the potassium content in inadequate fields. The two main varieties of potassium fertilizer are: 1) sulfate of potash and 2) muriate of potash.

How to use fertilizers

                                    Video

Don’t apply liquid fertilizer at the same time you plant. No matter how carefully you remove plants from their containers and place them in the ground, some root hairs will break. The fertilizer will reach the roots immediately and enter them at the broken points, “burning” them and causing further dieback. Wait 2 to 3 weeks after planting before you fertilize by then, the newly set-out plants should have recovered from any root damage.

A few plants are heavy feeders and advantage from customary uses of broadly useful manures and additional nitrogen all through the developing season.

If you live in southern areas where lawns feature warm-season grasses, fertilize turf in late spring or early summer, just before grass kicks into high gear. Make a second application in late summer. If your warm-season lawn goes dormant in winter, don't fertilize after the first of September

1.  Don't apply liquid fertilizer at the same time you plant. ...
2. Use a spading fork to work a dry granular fertilizer into a new garden bed. ...
3. Using a cultivator, gently scratch the soil beneath plants with roots growing close to the surface. ...
4. Liquid fertilizers can be applied with a watering can.

Benefits of Fertilizers

         

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRd-qVqkmd0

        There is a lot of misinformation on the effect of fertilizer use on the environment. While there are some problems to be solved, it should be pointed out that balanced fertilization has had a tremendous positive effect on our environment.

         Probably the most important contribution that fertilizers have made to the environment is in preserving wildlife habitat. Fertilizer use has allowed farmers to continuously achieve high yields on the same land for many years, eliminating the need for clearing new lands.

             The photograph above shows the benefit of using balanced fertilization. On the left of the field, the properly fertilized sugarcane is growing much faster than the improperly treated portion on the right. As a result, the crop on the left covers the soil faster and protects it from direct exposure to the rain, thereby reducing erosion. It also shades out weeds more effectively, reducing the need for herbicides. 

The crop on the left also leaves more residue after harvest, increasing the organic matter content of the soil as well as effectively reducing runoff of water.

Introduction to Fertilizers

               

             

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlPr5UC5QP4

           Fertilizers upgrade the development of plants. This objective is met in two different ways, the conventional one being added substances that give supplements. The second mode by which a few fertilizers act is to upgrade the viability of the dirt by changing its water maintenance and air circulation. This article, in the same way as other on composts, accentuates the wholesome perspective. Fertilizers regularly give, in differing extents

           Fertilizers are arranged in a few different ways. They are ordered by whether they give a solitary supplement , in which case they are named "straight composts." "Multi nutrient fertilizers" give at least two supplements, for instance N and P. Fertilizers are likewise at times delegated inorganic (the point of a large portion of this article) versus natural. Inorganic fertilizers reject carbon-containing materials with the exception of ureas. Natural composts are as a rule (reused) plant-or creature inferred matter. Inorganic are here and there called engineered composts since different synthetic medicines are required for their produce.

                   The main micronutrients are molybdenum, zinc, and copper. These elements are provided as water-soluble salts. Iron presents special problems because it converts to insoluble (bio-unavailable) compounds at moderate soil pH and phosphate concentrations. For this reason, iron is often administered as a chelate complex, e.g., the EDTA derivative. The micronutrient needs depend on the plant. For example, sugar beets appear to require boron, and legumes require cobalt