Fertilisers

Fertilisers contain minerals such as nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus, which help
plants to grow. Fertilisers increase crop yields but cause the problem of
'eutrophication' when they're washed by rainwater into rivers and lakes. Most
chemical fertilisers are made by the reaction of an acid with an alkali.
Fertilisers
Fertilisers make crops grow faster and bigger so that crop yields are increased.
They're minerals, which must first dissolve in water so that plants can absorb them
through their roots.
Fertilisers provide plants with the essential chemical elements needed for growth
particularly nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. The proportions of these elements in
a fertiliser are often shown as N: P: K = 15:30:15.
The name or formula of a compound often suggests which elements a particular
fertiliser provides.
Fertiliser
Ammonium nitrate
Inorganic
Ammonium phosphate
Inorganic
Ammonium sulphate
Inorganic
Urea
Organic
Potassium nitrate
Inorganic

Formula
NH4NO3

Essential elements
Nitrogen, hydrogen

(NH4)3PO4 Nitrogen, hydrogen and phosphorus

(NH4)2SO4 Nitrogen, sulphur and hydrogen
(NH2)2CO

Nitrogen, carbon and hydrogen

KNO3

Potassium and nitrogen

Most fertilisers are made by the reaction of an acid and an alkali.

Fertiliser
Ammonium nitrate
Ammonium phosphate
Ammonium Sulphate
Potassium nitrate

Acid
Nitric acid
Phosphoric acid
Sulphuric acid
Nitric acid

Alkali
Ammonia
Ammonia
Ammonia
Potassium hydroxide

How fertilisers work

Fertilisers increase crop production by replacing essential elements used by a previous
crop or by boosting levels of such elements. Nitrogen particularly is needed to build
plant proteins, thereby increasing growth.

Uses of minerals by plants

Element

Use

Magnesium

To make chlorophyll

Nitrates

To make amino acids and proteins

Phosphates

To make DNA and needed for respiration

These all increase crop

yield
Planting clovers
This legume has N-fixing bacteria in root nodules, which converts N2 to plant
proteins. When allowed to decompose, the proteins are converted to ammonia into the
soil.
Eutrophication
A major problem with the use of fertilisers occurs when they're washed off the land
by rainwater into rivers and lakes. The increase of nitrate or phosphate in the water
encourages algae growth, which forms a bloom over the water surface. This prevents
sunlight reaching other water plants, which then die. Bacteria break down the dead
plants and use up the oxygen in the water so the lake may be left completely lifeless.

Preparation of a fertiliser
Synthetic fertilisers are prepared in the lab by the reaction of an acid with an alkali. A
quantity of alkali is placed in a beaker and a solution of acid is run in until the
solution is neutral. This can be measured with a pH meter or by removing samples for
testing with universal indicator.
The neutral solution of salt is evaporated until crystals form. These are filtered out,
washed and dried.
The preparation of a fertiliser in the lab involves the following equipment: a
measuring cylinder to measure a particular volume of an alkali solution, a 'burette' to
add acid a little at a time and a filter funnel to remove the solid crystals of fertiliser
from the solution.
Calculating the percentage by mass of an element in a compound
The relative atomic mass of the element and the number of atoms of it in the formula
enable you to find how much of it there is in the formula mass.
1.
2.
3.
4.

Work out the mass of the element in one formula mass.

Work out the formula mass.
Divide the mass of the element by the formula mass and multiply by a hundred.
Calculate the answer.

Pesticides
Intensive farming practices include growing high-yield crops, using fertilisers and
pesticides and keeping animals indoors. Food production is increased but there are
unwelcome side effects.
Organic farming bans chemical inputs and has a less harmful effect on the
environment but often produces less, more expensive food.
Hydroponics is the production of food using nutrient-rich solution rather than soil.

Intensive farming
Action
Remove
competing plants
from the crop
growing area
Remove animals
that feed on the
crop
Keep animals
indoors

Treatment
Herbicide
spray

Explanation
Allows more energy to
be transferred to the crop

Side effect
Reduces biodiversity.
May have harmful
effect on health.

Pesticide
spray

Prevents energy being

transferred from the crop
to consumers
Reduces energy
transferred to
environment so more
energy available for
growth

Reduces biodiversity.
May poison helpful
organisms.
Increased risk of
disease. Lower quality
product. Ethical
concerns.

Battery
farming

The effects of insecticides

Insecticides like DDT don't break down quickly. It's been responsible for a large
reduction in bird numbers since intensive farming became widespread. DDT
accumulates in food chains - as consumers eat large numbers of prey containing the
insecticide. High levels of DDT have been found in birds of prey.
Alternatives to pesticides
Biological control is an alternative to using pesticides. By releasing a natural
predator into the crop growing area, the number of pests can be reduced. This can
have unforeseen consequences as the numbers of different organisms in the food web
are changed. There have been examples of the predator becoming a more serious pest
than the original problem.

Food production
Some food products have been grown in artificial environments to increase
productivity. Examples include growing tomatoes in glasshouses and salmon in fish
farms. The benefits of this method are that the growing conditions can be monitored
and controlled to improve productivity.
Hydroponics

An extreme form of growing crops in glasshouses is called hydroponics. Soil is

replaced by a mineral solution pumped around the plant roots.
Removing the soil means there's no risk of soil organisms causing disease but the
plants have to be supported.
Monitoring and adjusting the concentrations of minerals in the solution enable the
grower to control growth.
It allows crops to be grown in regions where there's no soil. Due to the costs involved,
hydroponics is used only for high-value crops.
Organic farming
An alternative way to produce food is to ban the use of fertilisers, herbicides and
pesticides, and replace these with more natural methods.
Some believe this produces higher quality food, and that it doesn't raise as many
ethical concerns as there's less environmental impact. Food produced organically
tends to be more expensive as the yield is lower than intensively produced food.

Organic farming techniques

Technique
Manure

Replaces
Fertiliser

Advantage
Recycles waste,
improves soil structure

Crop rotation

Single crop

Weeding

Herbicides

Nitrogenfixing plants

Nitrogen
fertilisers

Reduces disease and

damage to soil
composition
Less environmental
damage, or health risk
Cheaper, longer lasting

Disadvantage
Difficult to apply and
cannot control mineral
content
Less productivity. Less
efficient to grow different
crops.
Labour intensive
Reduces area available for
growing crops if part of a
crop rotation