Fertilizer
hideFertilizers are chemical compounds applied to promote plant and fruit growth. Fertilizers are usually applied either through the soil (for uptake by plant roots) or, by foliar feeding (for uptake through leaves).
Fertilizers can be placed into the categories of organic fertilizers (composed of decayed plant/animal matter), or inorganic fertilizers (composed of simple chemicals and minerals). Organic fertilizers are 'naturally' occurring compounds, such as peat, manufactured through natural processes (such as composting), or naturally occurring mineral deposits; inorganic fertilizers are manufactured through chemical processes (such as the Haber process), also using naturally occurring deposits, while chemically altering them (e.g. concentrated triple superphosphate).
Properly applied, organic fertilizers can improve the health and productivity of soil and plants, as they provide different essential nutrients to encourage plant growth. Organic nutrients increase the abundance of soil organisms by providing organic matter and micronutrients for organisms such as fungal mycorrhiza, which aid plants in absorbing nutrients. Chemical fertilizers may have long-term adverse impact on the organisms living in soil[citation needed] and a detrimental long term effect on soil productivity of the soil[citation needed].
For more information about Fertilizer, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with fertilizer
Fertilizer use not always helpful in revegetation efforts
Dec 17, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (5) |
3
Companies and communities trying to restore vegetation on damaged northern landscapes should think twice about using fertilizer to stimulate growth according to new research published in the November issue of Arctic, Antarctic an ...
Farms, Fertilizers and Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Dec 10, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists are front and center in finding out how farming affects emissions of the green house nitrous oxide (N2O).
Search results for fertilizer
Water-saving technology focus of new grant
Dec 04, 2009 |
5 / 5 (3) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Many ornamental nursery growers test to see if their plants need water by sticking a finger in the soil to see if it’s dry. Or, they just water them whether they need it or not. University of Georgia horticulturists ...
Computer model reveals where food pathogens grow
Dec 03, 2009 |
4 / 5 (1) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- An outbreak of food-related illness, such as E. coli-tainted spinach, often leaves food safety experts scratching their heads over the source of the contamination.
Vermicompost from pig manure grows healthy hibiscus
Dec 10, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
Vermicomposting, the practice of using earthworms to turn waste into nutrient-rich fertilizer, can be an economical, organic waste management practice. During vermicomposting, earthworms and microorganisms stabilize organic ...
Behavior modification could ease concerns about nanoparticles
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Dec 16, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
In an advance that could help ease health and environmental concerns about the emerging nanotechnology industry, scientists are reporting development of technology for changing the behavior of nanoparticles ...
New way to break some of the strongest chemical bonds
Dec 16, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (24) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at Cornell University in the U.S. have found a new way of breaking two of the strongest chemical bonds, at ambient temperature and pressure, and this breakthrough could lead to ...
Cornellians build computer climate-change model
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Dec 21, 2009 |
2.7 / 5 (7) |
5
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers are contributing to a new model of climate change that may give more accurate predictions of the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in Earth's future.
Asian carp raises fear and loathing on Great Lakes
Dec 10, 2009 |
not rated yet |
1
(AP) -- After nearly four decades as a fishing guide on the Great Lakes, Pat Chrysler has seen enough damage from invasive species to fear what giant, ravenous Asian carp could do to the nation's largest bodies of freshwater.
List of search results for fertilizer
