Types of Fertilizers That Improve Crop Health

Although soil contains a number of nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorous, calcium, and potassium, which are important for plants to grow and maintain their health but at times, plants do not get enough supply of these nutrients from the soil. No matter what the reason is, it causes plants to suffer from nutrient deficiency and has a negative impact on their growth. This is when fertilizers are required by plants as they are the components that increase plant productivity and development. But it is equally important to use the right type of fertilizer to ensure that it increases soil fertility while promoting plant growth.

Types of Fertilizers

Majorly, there are two different types of fertilizers: Organic and Inorganic. The main difference between them is the fact that organic or natural fertilizers are made of plant and animal-based materials. Inorganic or synthetic fertilizers, on the other hand, are made of minerals and synthetic chemicals.

There are different types of organic fertilizers that can be used for different crops:

Cow Dung Manure

This is the most commonly used fertilizer due to its easy availability. For crop fertilization, it is better to use decomposed cow dung instead of using it fresh.

Bio-compost

It is a type of bio-fertilizer and is produced from bio-waste that can decompose and then change into compost. You can obtain bio-waste from vegetables and fruit peels, eggshells etc.

Leaf Mould

Leaf Mould is a type of compost made of fungus, bacterial and dry leaves and this fertilizer works best for vegetables.

Vermicompost

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A nutrient-rich organic fertilizer and soil conditioner, vermicompost is obtained when earthworms turn organic materials and green waste into a soil amendment. The ideal form of vermicompost is when it is dark and moist.

Wood Ash

Wood Ash is a rich source of lime and potassium and when used for crop fertilization, it provides a number of nutrients required by plants in order to grow well.

Peat

This organic fertilizer is mainly produced from plant materials under critical conditions like waterlogging, deficiency of oxygen, acidity in the soil etc. It is used for soil improvement and plant growth.

And, some common types of inorganic fertilizers that can be used for all types of crops are:

Nitrogen Fertilizer

These fertilizers majorly contain ammonia or its solutions. Ammonium nitrate is one such fertilizer using which you can see a significant improvement in the overall growth of the plants and improve crop health. Another popular nitrogen fertilizer is urea which can be used for plants because of its solid and non-explosive nature. With the proper use of urea fertilizer, you can help crops maintain good health.

Phosphorus Fertilizer

These fertilizers mainly contain Diammonium Phosphate (DAP), Monoammonium Phosphate (MAP), NPKs, etc. They are commonly used in farming because of their high nutrition content and good physical properties.

Potassium Fertilizers

Potassium fertilizers not only provide enough nutrients to the plants but also make them disease-free, drought-tolerant and improve the rigidity in stems.

Sulphur, Calcium and Magnesium Fertilizers

These fertilizers are used when there is a pH imbalance as they help to increase the pH value of the soil.

With each crop harvest, the soil loses some of the nutrients and there comes a point when it starts affecting overall soil health. Using fertilizers is the best way to replenish these lost nutrients. But at the same time, it is also important to choose the right type of fertilizer on the basis of the crop. If rightly done, crop fertilization can not only improve crop yields but increase overall soil fertility as well.