Fertilizer

• It is a chemical substance which is manufactured artificially
• Fertilizer is rich source of nutrient and applied in crop production to supply a particular nutrient which soil is deficient

Categorization of fertilizer

1. Straight/Simple fertilizer

• It contains only one major nutrient. Example: urea, single super phosphate

2. Complex/Compound fertilizer

• It contain at least two major nutrients. Example DAP
• If it contains two major nutrients it is called binary fertilizer. Example: Potassium nitrate
• If it contains three major nutrients it is called ternary

3. Mixed fertilizer

• It consist of mixing of single/straight fertilizer so as to supply more than one nutrient at a time

4. Complete fertilizer

• It contains all three major nutrients, N,P and K

5. Incomplete fertilizer

• it contains one or two major nutrients only

6. Low analysis fertilizer

• Fertilizer contains less than 25 % of primary nutrients.

Example: ammonium sulphate, single super phosphate

7. High analysis fertilizer

• The nutrient content in such fertilizer is more than 25 % . Example: urea, murate of potash nutrients. Example: Ammonium potassium phosphate

Types of fertilizers

• Nitrogenous fertilizers
• Phosphatic fertilizers
• Potassic fertilizers
• Micro nutrients (Fe, B, Mn, Zn, Cu, Mo)