The soil needs to be healthy in order for farmers to grow healthy crops. However, soil is unable to replenish nutrients on its own without Fertilizante crecimiento.
The removal of important nutrients from the soil is a consequence of harvesting crops, because the nutrients follow the crop to our dinner plates. The yield of crops will deteriorate over time if the soil is not replenished with nutrients through fertilization.
The analysis and fertilizing of crops enable a chain that provides humans with nutritional food:
- Soils are fed by nutrients
- Plants need soil to grow
- Animals and humans are fed by plants
There are three main types of mineral fertilizers: nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.
Globally, 85% of soils contain insufficient nitrogen according to the International Fertilizer Association (IFA). Over 73% of the soils are deficient in phosphorus, while 55% are deficient in potassium.
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How Is Fertilizer Used?
There are often few alternatives without fertilizers for plants to avoid nutrient deficiencies.
The soil is the only place in which plants can acquire nitrogen since plants cannot absorb it directly from the air. Fertilizers are needed to boost soil nutrition if it is low on nitrogen.
Potassium occurs in high concentrations below the surface of the soil (often around one kilometer below) and is not accessible to the roots of plants. This naturally occurring nutrient can be mined from the soil surface and placed within reach of plant roots.
While phosphorus can be found in certain rocks, it must be water soluble in order for plants to access it. Proper use of phosphorus fertilizers helps plants absorb it through the soil and ensures a high yield and rapid growth.
Why Are Mineral Fertilizers Different From Organic Fertilizers?
There are 17 nutrients necessary for plants to thrive in nature. It depends on what crop you grow, as well as the nutrient deficits in your specific soil, what kind of fertilizer you need. Certain crops deplete the soil of specific nutrients at different rates.
Farmers often use NPK compound fertilizers, which provide a combination of several nutrients at once.
The use of organic fertilizers such as animal waste and compost has been going on for centuries. These fertilizers provide nutrients and organic matter, which enhances the structure of soils.
Mineral fertilizers have been required to meet the increasing food needs of a growing global population since the 20th century. Organic fertilizers contain different amounts of nutrients, which are much less concentrated than those found in mineral fertilizers.
The use of mineral fertilizers reduces the amount and number of vehicles required to transport the fertilizer products.
According to the United Nations(2), the global population will reach 9.8 billion by 2050. We need to increase crop yields if we want to be able to produce enough food for everyone.
It is impossible to achieve this increase without carefully planned fertilization.
Why Do Fertilizers Have Benefits?
The exact amounts of nutrients in the mineral fertilizer make planning the farming process easier as well. There are now a greater number of fertilizers containing major, secondary, and micronutrients available to farmers.
Fertilizers derived from minerals come in convenient solid granular form, making them easy to transport and apply by farmers. Plants that grow in nutritionally deficient and unfertilized soil will often be smaller and grow slower than plants in fertile soil.
What Is The Importance Of Nutrients To Humans?
The nutrients from fertilized soil are transferred to our bodies when we eat wheat, apples, potatoes, and other plants. Similarly, we consume plants that contain the same nutrients if we consume animals that have eaten them.
A good source of calcium, such as milk, prevents us from developing weak and brittle bones.
If the cows do not graze on fields that contain enough calcium, then their milk will not contain as much.