What is fertilizer

Fertilizer is any material of natural or synthetic origin (other than liming materials) that is applied
to soil or to plant tissues to supply one or more plant nutrients essential to the growth of plants .
Many sources of fertilizer exist, both natural and industrially produced. [1]
Fertilizers enhance the growth of plants. This goal is met in two ways, the traditional one being
additives that provide nutrients. The second mode by which some fertilizers act is to enhance the
effectiveness of the soil by modifying its water retention and aeration. This article, like many on
fertilizers, emphasises the nutritional aspect. Fertilizers typically provide, in varying proportions.

Chemical ingredients help create fertilizers that promote plant growth and are cost effective, too.
Commercial and consumer fertilizers are strictly regulated by both individual states and the
federal government to ensure that they are safe for the people who use them, people nearby, and
the surrounding environment.

PROSPECT OF FERTILIZER
With the global population steadily growing, it is important that enough crops are produced each
year to provide food, clothing and other agricultural products to people around the world. Crops
such as corn, wheat and cotton receive nutrients from the soil they are grown in; various crops
deplete soil nutrients in different ways and rates. Some crop growth can deplete soil nutrients after
just a few seasons of planting. Fertilizers play an important role in providing crops with the
nutrients they need to grow and be harvested for nutritious food.

Fertilizers help deliver enough food to feed the world’s population. But they can do even more.
A class of fertilizers called micronutrient fertilizers is engineered to enrich crops with vital
nutrients that help support human health. For example, micronutrients such as zinc are important
to human nutrition, especially children. According to a United Nations study, much of the
world’s grain crops are grown in soil without adequate zinc; offering micronutrient fertilizers to
grain crops enriches the grain with an important nutrient.

Fertilizers are essential to the security of the world’s food supply, and they must be used
properly. The manufacture, sale and transportation of fertilizers is heavily regulated. States have
difference regulations and statutes that address fertilizer use and production to protect human
health and the environment.

In addition to individual state regulations, the federal government also regulates fertilizer
production, use and transport. Fertilizer producers are required to participate in the U.S.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Process Safety Management
Regulation to protect worker safety. In addition to OSHA, the U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Homeland Security and Department of
Transportation all play roles in regulating fertilizers and their production.

Ammonium nitrate, a good source of nitrogen and ammonium for plants, is an important
ingredient in the production of high quality, effective fertilizers. Ammonium nitrate is produced
using anhydrous ammonia, a gas that can become explosive when mixed with air. While this
fertilizer is applied safely every day, this feature also means that it can be dangerous in the wrong
hands. Fertilizer producers take great care in the safe use and storage of anhydrous ammonia and
have implemented safety measures to help prevent or mitigate an incident

Organic materials and fertilizers improve the soil texture, allowing it to hold water longer, and
increase the bacterial and fungal activity in the soil. So, they not only assist your plants, they help
the soil.

PROBLEMS OF FERTILIZER
The main environmental problem associated with fertilizer use is contamination of water with
nitrates and phosphates.

The nitrogen from fertilizers and manures are eventually converted by bacteria in the soil to
nitrates. These nitrates can be leached into the groundwater or be washed out of the soil surface
into streams and rivers. High nitrate levels in drinking water are considered to be dangerous to
human health.

Phosphorus cannot be readily washed out of the soil, but is bound to soil particles and moves
together with them. Phosphorus can therefore be washed into surface waters together with the soil
that is being eroded. The phosphorus is not considered to be dangerous, but it stimulates the
growth of algae in slow moving water. These algae eventually die and decompose, removing the
oxygen from the water causing fish kills. This process is called eutrophication.

It is important to remember that there are a number of sources of these pollutants including
industrial waste, sewerage disposal, detergents and manures. The problem of high nitrate levels in
groundwater was recorded as early as 1860, long before fertilizer use became commonplace.

Recent research shows that the main sources of nitrates in groundwater are crop residues and
organic matter that decompose and produce nitrates at time when crops cannot make use of them

Synthetic fertilizers, although speedy, often overfeed the plant, do nothing for the soil, and can
damage plants by burning them.

Synthetic fertilizers deplete the soil of its nutrients, making it unproductive. Good luck growing
those juicy tomatoes in unproductive soil!

Synthetic fertilizers require a significant amount of fossil fuels to produce and process and often
runoff into nearby water sources like streams and lakes.

Crops grow better, but so do weeds. Therefore herbicide sprays are required too.

Excess nitrogen from fertilisers gets into water supplies, causing fish to die.

Chemicals need to be used safely. In poorer countries in particular, farmers can

damage their health by applying fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides incorrectly.

Artificial fertilisers, applied without organic additions, do not improve soil structure.

REFERENCES
a b c d e Dittmar, Heinrich; Drach, Manfred; Vosskamp, Ralf; Trenkel, Martin E.; Gutser,
Reinhold; Steffens, Günter (2009). "Fertilizers, 2. Types". Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial
Chemistry. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH.
doi : 10.1002/14356007.n10_n01 .
A
TERM PAPER
ON
PROSPECT AND PROBLEM OF FERTILIZER IN NIGERIA
WRITTEN BY :- LAMIDI FARUQ ABIOLA
MATRIC NO :- 146046
SUBMITTED TO :- DR(MRS) F.M. OWOADE
DEPARTMENT OF CROP AND SOIL SCIENCE
FACULTY OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE
LADOKE AKINTOLA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
PMB 4000, OGBOMOSO,OYO STATE, NIGERIA