Fertilizers are materials used to provide plant nutrients which are deficient in soils.

Many fertilizers are extracted and purified from natural deposits in the earth. Materials such as sulpomag, muriate of potash and triple super phosphate are all produced from naturally occurring minerals.

Some materials, such as urea and ammonium nitrate are synthetic, but provide plants with the same nutrients that are found naturally in the soil.

The color of fertilizers vary depending on where they were extracted, the degree of purification and the presence of added dyes. For example, muriate of potash can be either red, white or colorless crystals. The color of a fertilizer does not indicate its usefulness, what really matters is its nutrient content.

Many different materials are used as fertilizers. The following are some of the common fertilizers and the nutrients they typically contain. The actual nutrient level can vary depending in the source.

Benefits of fertilizers

There is a lot of misinformation on the effect of fertilizer use on the environment. While there are some problems to be solved, it should be pointed out that balanced fertilization has had a tremendous positive effect on our environment.

Probably the most important contribution that fertilizers have made to the environment is in preserving wildlife habitat. Fertilizer use has allowed farmers to continuously achieve high yields on the same land for many years, eliminating the need for clearing new lands.

In many situations where fertilizers are not used, farmers have resorted to slash-and-burn agriculture. They clear a new area of forest and can only farm for two or three crops as the land quickly becomes unproductive. They then move on to a new area of forest, leaving the previous one bare and exposed to erosion.

Nutrient content in a common fertilizer: