1.What is fertilizer? A fertilizer is any material, organic or inorganic, that is used to supply nutrients to the soil. 2.How and when were fertilizers invented? Fertilizers were invented in early mid 19h century, It was invented by Justus Von Liebig who demonstrated various trials in UK , these trials provided greater efficiency in plant growth 3.Why are mineral fertilizers necessary?
They support and sustain agriculture
They are necessary for plant growth due to added nutrients They add great amount of organic matter to the soil e.g humus They are able to increase productivity Increases the resistance of the plants to frost and disease
4.How are fertilizers produced
They are of two kinds; Naturally or biologically are produced as the end product or by product of natural occurring processes. example decomposition or natural processes Some are chemically synthesized like NH4(H2PO4) where various processes are used example for ammonium nitrate, nitric acid is used to make this compound ,where are mixed together in a tank and neutralized to form ammonium nitrate
5.Where do fertilizer raw materials originate?
Most are from natural sources like air , and minerals mined from the earth Sulphur for production of sulphuric acid used in production of many fertilizers Natural gas and oil For nitrogen; They are obtained from atmosphere i.e air contains nitrogen and the nitrogen fixing bacteria convert them into ammonia which is necessary for plant growth For phosphorous-they come from the phosphates originating in rock deposits as fossilized remains of ancient marine life or from volcanic activity. For potassium; is derived from naturally-occurring ore deposits that were formed when seas and oceans evaporated from rock phosphate
6.How long will the natural deposits of raw materials for fertilizers last? Potassium and Phosphorous are the most abundant used nutrients which last about 90 years although they are deposited every year their scarcity can limit plant growth.
7.Why manufacture soluble mineral fertilizers? Why not just grind up natural minerals? This is because mineral fertilizers ; Due to their solubility in water they are rapidly absorbed in the soil this also contributes to rapid growth because like for potassium and phosphorus are insoluble so due to addition of water the nutrients are able to be available to plants to absorb them. Unit 3: fertilizers
8. Why are manufactured fertilizers called “mineral fertilizers” and sometimes “chemical fertilizers”? This is because they are formed from natural minerals that undergo various processes mostly chemical undergo many reactions and use of machines which leads to high quality fertilizers that are soluble to be rapidly absorbed by the plant.
9.Which nutrients are most needed?
Nitrogen Phosphorus , Potassium 10.Why is adding sulphur to fertilizers more necessary now than previously?
This is because phosphate fertilizers are now concentrated so their sulphur content has been reduced which results in need of more. This is because now sulphur produced has been reduced based on the significant fact that there is reduction in SO2 produced during fall of acidic rain This is because of sulphur demanding crops produced nowadays This is because yields are higher than previously so some nutrients have been removed during the system
11.Organic fertilizers: Are they environmentally better or worse than mineral fertilizers? - Organic fertilizers are environmentally better or friendly compared to mineral fertilizers which destroy living organisms like for soil, they produce pollution and destroy soil organisms (like those bacteria) and for humans they accumulate in their body as toxins. - Mineral fertilizers are also better for productivity of crops because they balance nutrients available for crops to absorb by replacing or compensating for lost nutrients.
12.Can nature make up for nutrient deficiencies?
It can but not in current intensive agriculture because of advanced agriculture when during weathering or release of nutrients there is low productivity for high yielding crops so there is replacement of other nutrients.
13.What happens to nitrogen fertilizer?
After the production of ammonium and nitrate both are taken up by the plant; Some are used by soil microbes and in soil organic matter The remainder is often lost through gaseous products and leaching and it’s amount depends on quantity, time and type of fertilizer used Much is taken by the plant Unit 3: fertilizers 14.Do fertilizers increase soil fertility (productivity)? Yes , fertilizers replace nutrients that have been lost from high yield crops so this and additional good agricultural activity increase productivity for new crops.
15.How are fertilizer application rates derived?
By consideration of different factors on plant, soil status and the
requirement from the soil or crop and also other recommendations although it’s difficult to estimate amount of nutrients available in soil but this must be done to obtain best productive results.
16.How much fertilizer does a crop need?
It depends on the type of crop ,soil ,its management and the location like for crops which doesn’t have the residues need more fertilizers than those which remain with it because for them example; potatoes their residue store nutrients.
17.What constitutes balanced and timely applications of fertilizers?
-The different nutrients are supplied in right proportion according to the plant’s need. -The total supply of added nutrients of all sources is just sufficient to fit the plant requirement this avoids the deficiency that can arise to the plant
18.Does precision farming give any benefit to the farmer or the
environment? Yes, it does benefit both because when fertilizer is applied using this
19.Is the condition of fertilizer spreaders important?
Yes, because there is poor fertilizer spreaders will not work accurately spread fertilizer.
20.What is the effect of uneven spreading of
fertilizers and how can it be minimized? -Effect is that the uneven spreading fertilizer is harmful because if there is over fertilization or under fertilization the crop will grow badly or even low productivity is yielded. -It can be minimized by using good high quality fertilizer and good spreader to be done successively.
21.How efficiently is fertilizer nitrogen used by crops?
Unit 3: fertilizers Crop production in arable crop production is high example in cereals about 40 to 70 percent of crop is made of nitrogen and the rest remains in the soil this shows that nitrogen is really efficient in crops. 22,What is the efficiency of different forms of nitrogen in crop production? Nitrogen is among the most efficient fertilizer based on the fact that; They are quickly available in the soil example ammonia in the soil There is no volatilization release of nitrogen in air Low uptake of this nitrogen by microorganisms
23.Do fertilizers acidify the soil?
Yes, some do and others don’t, this is due to the fact that ammonium oxidise to nitrate so nitrogen is released this increase acidity to the soil. For ammonium Sulphate there is decrease in pH which increases soil acidity.
24.Does fertilizer use make plants susceptible to
pests, disease and weed infestation? Yes, because when the plants grow healthily there is risk of competitive advantage where there is increase in humid condition which encourage pests and diseases so that’s why the plant fertilizer must be balanced to avoid those problems.
25.Do fertilizers cause soil compaction and/or
erosion? Not directly but due to heavy machines used in fertilizer application can cause all of this but really fertilizers make the build up of organic matter in the soil.
26.Does fertilizer use contribute to drought problems in agriculture?
No, fertilizer use contributes to more efficient use of water in crops because less water is used mostly in high yielded area than more extensive system.
27.What environmental problems occur if application rates are well
below recommended rates? When application rates are below the recommended rates there is destruction of soil fertility as the plant are less dense plant cover this leads to soil erosion
28.What detrimental effects can excessive nitrogen application cause?
Unnecessary ammonia emission in soil and nitrous oxide in the atmosphere. It leads to lodging of crops and quality problems Unit 3: fertilizers It leads to water acidification which can pollute drinking water It is costly so it is an expense to the farmer sometimes which is unnecessary It leads to soil acidification which kills plant growth.
29.Do fertilizers leach to ground water?
Generally it’s no, this is because good agricultural practices and fertilizers minimize this and fertilizers like nitrogen are absorbed in the plants can cause this with also phosphorus but not readily because it happens not often under certain conditions and during heavy rain. 30.Isn’t there an increased risk of leaching when applying highly soluble nitrogen fertilizers? The risk is when excess nitrogen is applied but when there is a balance between all the nutrients within fertilizer there is no bleaching.
31.Do fertilizers give off ammonia, which is an atmospheric pollutant?
Yes some do ,others don’t based on the type of ammonia like for urea, ammonia and anhydrous ammonia are the ones which have highest potential to release nitrogen and about 50% are lost to the air but also the soil increase of pH increases the nitrogen volatilization. 32.What problems does ammonia volatilization cause? It leads to eutrophication which is the increase in unwanted aquatic and terrestrial organisms this results in oxygen degradation. It leads to acidification, this leads to death of some living organism and also this contributes to formation of dangerous rain like acidic rain
33.Is the economic optimum fertilizing intensity in conflict with
environmental consideration? It’s not because at optimum fertilizing intensity its when the fertilizer is beneficial to plants and no problem to environment but either when it’s low or maximum there is environmental damage even to crops itself so at this point is fine no damage
34.Do we gain or lose useful energy by using mineral fertilizers?
We gain because based on the fact that fertilizers produce higher biomass in harvested crops than that required to produce biomass so this shows that the additional fertilizers added on solar energy results into higher productivity and health to crops example nitrogen also that the fossil fuel benefits
35.Are fertilizers free of toxic substances and safe to handle?
Yes they are safe to handle but some of mineral fertilizers leads to dehydration , skin damage even some release toxic fumes which are harmful to us. But an organization called YARA has set ways to handle those few toxic fertilizers.
