Fertilisers

Nitrogenous fertilisers

 75% of all ammonia produced is converted into various ammonium compounds

like ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate and urea. These compounds are
called nitrogenous fertilizers.
 They are solid for easy handling
 Water soluble so they seep into the soil to be absorbed by the roots of the
plants.
N VALUE

 Nitrogen is essential element for healthy plant growth.

 Nitrogen is essential for making proteins which are needed for healthy growth
of stem and leaves.
 The proportion of nitrogen present in particular fertilizer can be calculated
and usually quoted as an “N” value on the fertilizer bag.
Main elements needed by plants

 Besides nitrogen, there are other elements which are required in large
quantities by plants.
 These are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorous and potassium.
 Hydrogen and oxygen are octane mainly as water by the plant and
carbon as carbon dioxide during photosynthesis
NPK value
Trace Elements

 Beside these main elements needed for healthy plant growth. There are also
trace elements needed.
 These include calcium, magnesium, sodium and Sulphur and tiny amounts of
copper, iron, zinc, manganese and boron.
 The plant obtain such elements from minerals in the soil.
 Alternatively, plant compost an animal manure are rich in such trace
elements.
Natural Organic Fertilizers

 Disadvantage
 Plant manure an compost take time to decomposed and so they release
nutrients slowly into the soil.
 Advantage
 Unlike man-made inorganic fertilizer, They are much less water soluble and
therefore less likely to be washed from the farmland.
Artificial Fertilizers

 Large scale used of artificial fertilizer can result in pollution problem called
Eutrophication or unintentional enrichment.
 This is caused by high solubility of nitrates which causes them to be leached
from farmland soil by rain water and carried into streams, ponds and
eventually into river.
 The presence of dissolve fertilizers encourage the growth of floating plants
called algae in water, these restrict the normal growth of other plant and
fishes as they reduce the oxygen content of the water.
 The green algae also prevent light from entering the water and further
oxygen is removed from the water when underwater vegetation dies and
decays.
Problem with Ammonium Fertilizer

 Another problem with ammonium fertilizers is that, if the soil is limed

because it is to acidic, as the lime is an alkali (calcium hydroxide) it will react
with ammonium salt to release ammonia.
 This causes loss of nitrogen from the added nitrogenous fertilizer.
Ammonium salt+ alkali = salt + water + ammonia gas
Home work

 Read page 206- 208 from Prescott.