Three Solid Nitrogen Fertilizers example essay topic

Fertilizers are substances added to the soil sprayed on leaves of plants to help them grow better or in some cases faster. Plants need twenty essen tail elements to help them grow. Plants make carbohydrates. A plant needs nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, sulfur, and magnesium the most to grow healthy. Most soils naturally contain enough trace elements for field crops, but such elements must be added when certain fruits and vegetable plants are grown. Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are the top three elements needed in plant growth.

Legumes are plants which absorb nitrogen gas from the air and bring the gas to the ground. Legumes are planted over with other crops and those plants get the required amount of nitrogen and grow healthy. There are two kinds of fertilizers. There is organic and inorganic. Organic fertilizers are bone meal, fishmeal, blood, and farmyard manner.

Inorganic manner is Nitrogen, potassium or any other element necessary in the aid of plant growth. If one accidently digests inorganic fertilizer, he or she must see a doctor as soon as possible. One can get red eyes, itchiness, and or stomach problems. During World War 2, the government built many factories to absorb nitrogen gas from the air and to use them in explosives.

Soon after the war, these factories were used to absorb nitrogen gas and to be used as a fertilizer. This method was inexpensive and farmers were now actually making a profit. By 1985, farmers used approximately eleven million tons of nitrogen a year. This is eight times more than what farmers used in 1950.

The most widely used fertilizer is pure ammonia. It is kept in liquid form under pressure in steel tanks. Three solid nitrogen fertilizers are ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate, and ammonium phosphate. Two common phosphorus fertilizers are superphosphate and triple superphosphate.

Phosphorous fertilizer is made by treating phosphate rock with sulfuric acid. Potassium sulfate and potassium nitrate are used on crops that are harmed by chlorides. The term straight fertilizer stands for any material that supplies one of the three principal macro nutrients. The three macro nutrients are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Mixed fertilizers are fertilizers that supply more than one macro nutrient.

This information is to one who is interested in purchasing fertilizer. The fertilizer companies or manufacturers basically list every package or container with three numbers. For example a package that says 4-16-18, contains 4 percent nitrogen, 16 percent phosphoric oxide, and 18 percent potassium oxide. Farmers need expert advice on which type of fertilizer will work best on different plants. Also a farmer must know if the cost of the fertilizer is worth the profit the crops will bring.

Natural fertilizers are said to be better because they help the soil retain moisture. They also resist erosion. They do not contain as much nutrients as chemical fertilizers of he same weight, but farmers prefer natural fertilizers over chemical fertilizers. Farmers believe that more wholesome plants grow in soil treated with these organic materials. Manure is the most important organic fertilizer.

It is a mixture of solid and liquid animal wastes. Every year livestock in farms in the United States of America produce at least one billion tons of manure. A small percentage of this manure is spread on fields, but a major portion is dried, ground, and sold for use in small gardens. Another organic fertilizer is guano. Guano is the waste of either birds or bats. Sludge is a fertilizer which comes from the sewage system disposals.

Other fertilizers are either found from the waste at meat-packing factories and / or uneatable fish.