There are various advantages of using fertilizers in agriculture. Fertilizers increase crop yield by providing essential nutrients to crop plants.
Fertilizers are chemicals or natural substances fed to crops to increase productivity. To increase yield, crop growers use fertilizers. Several essential nutrients are in fertilizers that plants need, including nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.
The use of fertilizers increases soil productivity and water-retaining capacity. Fertilizers make plants resistant to harmful pathogens, pests, and weeds. The eradication of plant diseases increases the value of crop yield.
Nowadays, fertilizers contain at least one of the three essential elements for plant survival: nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. The elements sulfur, magnesium, and calcium have secondary importance.
Why is Fertilizer Important for Agriculture?
One of the advantages of using fertilizers in agriculture is that it maintains soil fertility. Maintaining the fertility of soil requires regular maintenance.
By nature, soils consist of fine rocks, minerals of various kinds, and organic matter, which mix with soil because of the decomposition of different biological species.
Sand, minerals, and organic matter support proper tillage/paving, but these do not aid in maintaining and supporting enough nutrition for the plant needed for its growth and nourishment.
When a plant grows, the plant needs essential nutrients. A plant needs these nutrients to grow freely. Adding fertilizer to the soil ensures proper plant nutrition during its development.
Fertilizers help to grow more food to feed the world’s population, but they can do more. Micronutrient fertilizers are designed to provide crops with vital nutrients that also help support human health.
Advantages of Fertilizers in Agriculture
The advantages of using fertilizers in agriculture have the following significance:
- The use of fertilizers increases crop yield. Nitrogen is an element in fertilizers known for its ability to increase plant growth. Nitrogen is also a green agent. Due to aid in growth and greening effect benefits, nitrogen-rich fertilizers are preferred.
- Fertilizers accelerate the ripening process. An element known as phosphorus is present in fertilizers and is responsible for crop ripening. Farmers who want to accelerate the ripening process of crops can use phosphorus-rich fertilizers for this purpose.
- They increase resistance in plants. Stems and straw in plants are strengthened by Potassium present in fertilizers; as a result, they retain more water and are more resistant to dry conditions.
- The quality of fruits and seeds is improved by fertilizers, enabling a farmer to get a better yield and earnings.
Nutritional deficiency in plants caused by the absence of fertilizer lead to:
- Chlorosis (Yellowing of leaf tissue) [1]
- Necrosis
- Prohibition of cell division
- Delayed flowering
- Death of some tissues
- Early leaf fall and shoots
- Grow dwarf plants
Therefore, fertilizers play a significant role in agricultural production, keep diseases and infections at bay and provide necessary nutrients to plants.
Also Read: ORGANIC VS INORGANIC FERTILIZER USED IN AGRICULTURE
Types of Fertilizers Used in Agriculture
Several advantages of using fertilizers in agriculture exist. These fertilizers have different types, which include:
Inorganic Fertilizers
Inorganic fertilizers are those fertilizers that are produced by using synthetic ingredients. These fertilizers contain nutrients for crop growth. Following are the types of inorganic fertilizers.
Nitrogen Fertilizer
One of the advantages of using fertilizer in agriculture is that it provides nitrogen to plants. Nitrogen fertilizer contains nitrogen, which is essential for plant development. This fertilizer is a necessary component of chlorophyll, balancing photosynthesis.
It is also a component of amino acids in plants that makes protein. These fertilizers increase the production and quality of agricultural products.
Nitrogen is considered an essential nutrient, and absorption of this nutrient is more in plants than in any other element.
Nitrogen is essential for keeping plants healthy and, when they mature, makes them nutritious after harvest.
This effect is because nitrogen is essential for protein production, and proteins are a central component of the tissues of most organisms. [2]
Phosphorus Fertilizer
In phosphorus fertilizers, phosphorus is the primary nutrient. The success of fertilizers depends on the effective phosphorus content, the fertilization method, the nature of the soil, and the plant species.
This fertilizer in cell protoplasm plays a vital role in the growth and proliferation of the cell. Phosphorus fertilizer is helpful for plant root growth.
Phosphorus enhances energy transfer through the plant to develop roots and flowering. [3]
Potassium Fertilizers
Providing potassium is one of the advantages of using fertilizer in agriculture. Potassium helps plants to develop deeper and stronger roots. It can protect your plants from damage when deficient in other nutrients.
For photosynthesis, potassium is vital, and help slows down any disease that can infect your crop field.
Potassium fertilizer has many advantages. When and how to apply this fertilizer will depend on planting. Put this fertilizer very close to the plant roots if you use this fertilizer.
If your plants have a potassium deficiency, you may notice yellowing or browning at the edges of the leaves. If this deficiency continues, the leaves will eventually die.
Potassium is classified as a macronutrient as plants absorb large amounts of potassium during their life cycle, which is an essential nutrient.
Minnesota soil can provide a little potassium for agricultural production, but when the potassium supply from the ground is insufficient, it should be provided through fertilizer. [4]
Calcium, Magnesium, and Sulphur Fertilizers
Calcium, magnesium, and sulfur are secondary nutrients that plants need, but they are less likely to be added as fertilizers with Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium. [5]
In-plant growth, calcium’s primary function is to provide structural support to the cell walls. Calcium also acts as a secondary carrier when plants are exposed to physical or biochemical stress.
Magnesium is the primary atom among the four nitrogen atoms in the chlorophyll molecule, participating in photosynthesis. It acts as an activator for several enzymes required in plant growth and stabilization of nucleic acids.
Most crops need a fair amount of sulfur. It is an essential element in the development of chlorophyll and protein synthesis. Rhizobia bacteria in legumes need sulfur to fix nitrogen.
Organic Fertilizers
Organic fertilizers improve the soil with carbon compounds necessary for plant growth. Organic fertilizers are produced organically. These fertilizers are produced from plants and animals.
The chemical and physical properties of soil are changed by organic fertilizer. Organic matter content in the soil increases with the use of organic fertilizers.
This type of fertilizer helps in the reproduction of microorganisms. For green plants, organic fertilizer is considered one of the significant nutrients.
Organic fertilizers can be made from the below-mentioned products:
- Agricultural waste
- Manure
- Industrial waste
- Municipal sludge
Conclusion
The advantages of using fertilizers in agriculture are well-known to farmers. Over the years, farmers have used different fertilizers to increase agricultural production to meet growing demand. To raise healthy crops and garden products, farmers and families use fertilizers.
Many fertilizers have been developed to help different crops grow in different terrains and weather conditions, be it a small garden, a flower garden, or a large farm with thousands of acres of crops.
Fertilizer components help produce fertilizers that promote plant growth and soil fertility. All country’s governments tightly control fertilizer manufacturing to ensure they are safe for the people who use them and the environment around them.
