- What is a fertiliser?
- How important is it for agriculture?
- Will it be true that the more fertiliser you apply, the more nutrients it gives to the plants?
A fertiliser is any natural or synthetic material which is applied to soil or to plants. It has a lot of nutrients that are essential to plant growth and development. Its main nutrients are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. The nitrogen is for leaf growth, the phosphorus is for early root formation and growth and also for the development of flowers, fruits and seeds, and the potassium is for a strong stem, the movement of water in plants and the promotion of flowering as well as fruiting.
Two types of fertilisers are man-made fertiliser which is commonly known as inorganic and the other type of fertiliser is organic which is made from plants or animals. Inorganic fertilisers have many more nutrients than organic manure. It is important to apply fertilisers especially if you have a poor condition of soil where your plants expectedly have nutrient deficiencies in which you may notice the discolouration of the leaf. A fertiliser is not necessary for healthy soil. However, if it is applied, it can improve the appearance of the plants and their production. In other words, a fertiliser helps raise soil fertility. While there are many advantages of using fertilisers, overdoing the application, especially with chemical fertilisers, can make your plants vulnerable to pests. Fertilisers have a big role in agriculture as they help the initial stages of plants’ growth. There are proper ways of application and the right amount of fertiliser must be applied because its acidity can affect the plants and their environment. Using too much fertiliser can increase the possibility of environmental pollution. The right timing of application is also important because if you do not apply fertiliser at the time that the plants need it then there is no point in applying it.
Due to the high population and rapid increase in the demand for food, fertiliser has a great contribution to the food supply. While the application of fertilisers is encouraged in agriculture, it should always be considered that their impacts on the environment must be minimised. Applying fertilisers is one of the most important practices in agriculture. A fertiliser, whether organic or inorganic has a lot of benefits but it is important to use an appropriate method when applying it. While focusing on the plant’s growth and meeting the food demand, it is also important to ensure food safety. According to this increasing demand, there is development in fertiliser technology and the discovering of the chemical needs of growing plants.
Even in the past, farmers were using fertilisers. Until now, fertilisers were considered as very much needed in agriculture as a solution for the food crisis. Meeting the demand has been a challenge for farmers and fertilisers help them a lot to avoid the scarcity of food in the future.