A Comparative Study of Synthetic Fertilizer

and Organic Fertilizer of Farmers in Sitio

Francia May Ogob, Camarines Sur

A Practical Research Presented to the SHS

Department of Camarines Science Oriented
High School Inc.

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

for the Senior High School STEM Track

Kathlea Joy B. Batan

Lucky Phil Bolinas
Jeneses Cepe
Jasmine Coronel

1|Page April, 2022

 Table of Contents

Chapter 1: The Problem

Background of the Study…………………………………………………………………………………………2

Statement of the Problem………………………………………………………………………………………6

Significance of the Study……………………………………………………………………………………6

Scope and Limitation…………………………………………………………………………………………………8

Theoretical Framework………………………………………………………………………………………………9

Research Paradigm…………………………………………………………………………………………………………13

Conceptual Framework…………………………………………………………………………………………………13

Hypotheses of the Study…………………………………………………………………………………………14

Definition of Terms……………………………………………………………………………………………………16

Chapter 2: Review of Related Literature and Study

Related Literatures……………………………………………………………………………………………………19

Related Studies………………………………………………………………………………………………………………26

Synthesis………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………31

2|Page April, 2022

Chapter 3: Methodology

Research Design………………………………………………………………………………………………………………34

Population and Sampling Techniques……………………………………………………………35

Research Instrument……………………………………………………………………………………………………35

Data Gathering Procedure………………………………………………………………………………………36

Data Processing………………………………………………………………………………………………………………37

Statistical Treatment of Data…………………………………………………………………………38

3|Page April, 2022

 Chapter 1

THE PROBLEM

Background of the study

This research intends to reach people who use fertilizer

in their crops and plants, especially farmers who often rely

to it. Through this study, farmers will be able to come up

with better judgment of what’s best for their plant for this

research is bourn to know which of the said products are more

beneficial to use, which is more suitable for growing plants,

which is more worth the investment, and which of synthetic

and organic fertilizer has the most positive effects on crops

and plants.

Nowadays many people have been involved in planting,

used it as their hobby, and for passing the boredom during

the pandemic. This made them in need of buying fertilizers to

use on their plants. Especially farmers who use fertilizers

on their crops, such as rice crops, etc. Synthetic and organic

fertilizers are the types of fertilizers to choose from, the

two has their different effects on plants, and vary in

different other things. Synthetic fertilizers are fertilizers

made from different synthesized chemicals such as nitrogen,

phosphorus and potassium. While on the other hand the organic

4|Page April, 2022

fertilizers are extracted from living organisms or the earth,

they can be feces or decaying dead animals.

The market has been offering different types and brands

of synthetic fertilizers, which makes things easier for

consumers. They can find synthetic fertilizers at any agri-

vet or any store that offers agricultural supplies. This made

synthetic fertilizers look more pleasing in terms of

marketing, while organic fertilizers are not usually easy to

come by and needs a lot of time to produce. Again one of the

examples of organic fertilizers is feces or animal manure.

Composing and drying the compound up takes a lot of time and

effort to do so.

Both of these fertilizers have their advantages and

disadvantages. The researchers aim to determine which is

better to use in farming, therefore the researchers will

survey farmers to know which is more popular among them, and

their reason about the answers they provided. The chosen

locale of this research is Sitio Francia, May Ogob, Ocampo,

Camarines Sur. The researchers have taken into consideration

that there are a lot of farmers living in the said location.

Organic fertilizers are said to be more beneficial for

the soil, they give nutrients and is said to feed the soil

and keep the land greener. “Organically derived fertilizers

5|Page April, 2022

typically have a lower NPK analysis (nitrogen, phosphorus,

potassium) than synthetics fertilizers, but they feed plants

for a much longer period. As a result, the impact of organic

fertilizers on lawn and plants is usually more subtle.”

Organic fertilizers effect is less visible than synthetic but

it assures that the soil will not be damaged along with the

plants in it.

Synthetic fertilizers on the other hand are said to be

more fast-acting and can show more visible effects than

organic fertilizers. These fertilizers can come in different

varieties, it can be in pellet form, liquid, granule, and

spike. “Synthetic fertilizers give plants a quick boost but

do little to stimulate soil life, improve soil texture, or

improve your soil’s long-term fertility”. Synthetic

fertilizers are fertilizers often used by people, due to its

fast acting effects on the plants, however as it is synthetic

and made from synthesized chemicals it has its own hazardous

effects “The quick results of synthetic fertilizers can come

at a cost; apply too much and it may burn your lawn and

plants.”

Plants need enough nutrients to grow, but not all needed

nutrients to make the plant live and grow are in the soil.

Therefore we need to use fertilizers to nourish the soil and

6|Page April, 2022

feed plants, this will help the plants to grow and the soil

to be more fertile. According to the law of minimum by Justus

Von Liebig “that yield is proportional to the amount of the

most limiting nutrient, whichever nutrient it may be.” He

said that not all nutrients are found in the soil, not enough

to make the plants grow. That’s when the law of minimum comes

in, where we need to provide what’s lacking or the nutrients

missing in the soil by using fertilizers.

Based on the ideology of the Law of Minimum, this

research rose to help farmers decide the best fertilizer to

use through comparing synthetic and organic fertilizer. Every

plant has its limiting factor and such fertilizers were

developed to cope with complications, yet most of the farmers

tend to come up with many considerations before investing to

the right product. But the right product is what best fits

with their pocket, most of them buy the cheaper ones which

doesn’t really have that effect to plant that leads to much

worse scenario like loss of production. This study was made

out of these considerations. As researchers differentiate

synthetic and organic fertilizer through some perception of

farmers of Sitio Francia, May ogob, Ocampo, Camarines Sur,

the study could conclude a much sensible answer that the

farmers could rely in propagating their farm land.

7|Page April, 2022

Statement of the Problem

Generally this research will seek to identify what

farmers’ uses more between synthetic fertilizer and organic

fertilizer as well as the factors that differentiate them.

Specifically, this study will seek to answer the following

questions:

1. What are the differences of synthetic fertilizer and

organic fertilizer?

2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using

synthetic fertilizer and organic fertilizer?

3. What fertilizer do the farmers at Sitio Francia May

Ogob, Camarines Sur opt to purchase and use more?

Significance of the study

The researchers believe that this study will be

beneficial to many especially to the following people:

Farmers. This will help them assess which fertilizer is

more applicable to the law of minimum or the fertilizer that

will cover the whole of limiting factors of the plant growth.

Through the comparison of synthetic and organic fertilizer.

They will be able to identify the pros and cons of buying

such product and using it to their plant. Some products might

8|Page April, 2022

be budget friendly but the effect is not that visible, hence

in the light of this research, will guide farmers to avoid

this kind of situation.

Community. The people of the community of Sitio Francia

May Ogob, Camarines Sur are the main consumers of their

farmers’ plant yields thus this research plays a vital part

of how farmers could ensure the healthiness of their product

through the fertilizer they use to their plants that will be

eventually be feed to the people. Choosing the right

fertilizer will also boost the economy of the community for

if the farmers discern what’s best for their plants, they

could produce a big sum and quality of these which they could

sell in the right amount and attract more buyers from other

places.

Department of Agriculture. One thing that could increase

the promotion of agricultural development growth is through

choosing the right fertilizer. Through this study, DA could

conduct further analysis of how farmers’ choice could affect

the agricultural development from its yield and effects on

plant, soil and environment. They could assess if this result

could promote more good production of agricultural products

locally and internationally that will boost the state of local

farmers’ as well.

9|Page April, 2022

 Future researchers. Lastly, future researchers could use

this study to map out the room for improvements of this

investigation of synthetic and organic fertilizer and to put

up more sensible data that could prove other results other

than this to reach deeper view of fertilizers and its use for

the farmers. This, on the other hand is their foundation of

comparing the two fertilizer which does not only discusses

about growing of plants but also the perception of the

farmers.

Scope and Limitation

This study focuses on the comparison of synthetic

fertilizer and organic fertilizer, what farmers uses more

between the two and the factors that differentiate them. The

primary subjects of this research will consist of the farmers

of Sitio Francia May Ogob, Camarines Sur. The respondents,

however, will be limited to 15 farmers.

Moreover, most of the people at the Sitio do farming as

their living yet the place is not that big hence the

researchers decided to only randomly select this size of

respondents for the reason that a number of them only have

tiny farming fields hence they infrequently plant and uses

10 | P a g e April, 2022
fertilizers. This study is expected to be finished on April,

2022.

Theoretical framework

The theoretical underpinning of this study is Justus von

Liebig’s Law of the Minimum and supported by the Humus Theory

of Albrecht Thaer and the Theory of mineral nutrition of

plants by Justus von Liebig. This research, A Comparative

Study of Synthetic Fertilizer and Organic Fertilizer of

Farmers in Sitio Francia May Ogob, Camarines Sur is buttressed

by the said theories to acknowledge a deeper understanding of

the study’s main purpose. The theories spins around the

nutritional background of plant and soil fertility and put

different fertilizers as the basis of a good use and product.

The Law of the Minimum or also known as Liebig’s law is

a principle developed in agricultural science by Carl

Sprengel (1840) and later popularized by Justus von Liebig.

This law was originated after studying and observing the crop

and plant growth. The studies reveal that if we increase the

supply of the nutrients already present in enough amounts, it

does not affect the growth of plants hence no further growth

happens. But when we provide the nutrients which are present

11 | P a g e April, 2022
in scarcity or in limited supply, growth improvements are

detectable. Hence, it is the limiting factor that affects the

growth of the plant. Liebig’s law of minimum states that the

availability of nutrient in scarcity is the limiting factor

which is equally important for plant growth as the nutrient

in abundance. A limiting factor is anything that constrains

a population’s size and slows or stops it from growing. In

agriculture specifically in plants, the limiting factor could

be any nutrients that the plant needs in order to grow but is

lacking. For example in a bottle where there are stocks of

whole. The bottom whole is for water and oxygen, the second

whole above is for nitrogen, the next smaller whole is for

the phosphorus and the next is for the potassium and other

supporting factors. If you try to fill up the bottle you won’t

be able to do so because of the wholes which represents the

limiting factors. The first thing you will cover up is the

scarcity of water and oxygen and so on and as you reach for

approach to every whole, you will notice that the bottle is

quite being full but not totally since there are still small

leakages from the parchments same goes with fertilizers that

you invest with plants in order for them to grow.

Phlogistic period was the period in which the nutrition

of plants commonly was explained with the so-called humus

theory. This theory stated that plants lived on humus-derived

12 | P a g e April, 2022
extracts containing simple water-soluble compounds of C, H,

O, and N from which they were able to rebuild more complex

plant tissue. Albrecht Thaer (1752–1828), Sprengel’s mentor,

was one of the most well-known advocates of the humus theory

(Wendt, 1950). Humus is a substance that most people don’t

give a second thought. Not exactly a fertilizer and not

exactly a soil, humus is the product of the decomposition of

organic materials like leaves and animal waste. Like a

fertilizer, humus holds nutrients that plants can use, but

releases them slowly over time as it breaks down. It enhances

soil quality in a variety of ways. Humus has specific

properties that make it invaluable to the health of plants.

The spongy nature of humus helps it to trap and hold water,

this particular property also helps to aerate the soil as

humus expands and contracts with available water. Humus

provides long term storage of essential plant nutrients and

leaches them slowly back into the soil. This however was

debunked by Justus von Liebig.

Liebig essentially debunked the humus theory and made a

scientific case for plant requirements for mineral elements

from the soil, carbon from CO2 in the air, and H and O2 from

water. The Theory of mineral nutrition of plants by Justus

von Liebig paves path through his law of minimum. Liebig

thought that plants derived most of their nitrogen content

13 | P a g e April, 2022
from the air as well, which is somewhat correct for legumes,

but not true for other plants. Liebig developed the first

mineral fertilizers applied to replenish nutrients removed

from soils by crops and clearly saw mineral fertilizers as

part of sustainable agricultural practices.

Liebig’s law or the law of minimum relates to this

research in terms of how important fertilizers in growing

plants and how Humus theory and the Theory of mineral

nutrition of plants helps to discern which among synthetic

fertilizer and organic fertilizer is the more preferred and

advisable to use by the farmers of Sitio Francia May Ogob,

Camarines Sur. Since Liebig’s law concerns the scarcity of

nutrition of plant and how such fertilizers help plants in

need, through assessing between the synthetic and organic

fertilizer the farmers could apply the law of minimum.

Identifying what their plant needs the most at the moment

will guide them to decide which type of fertilizer contains

this limiting factors. In this way, they could save more money

and the growth of their plants will be secured.

14 | P a g e April, 2022
Research Paradigm

Input Process Output

Advantages
Differences and
of synthetic disadvantages
of using Choice of
fertilizer and synthetic Farmers
organic fertilizer and
fertilizer organic
fertilizer

Conceptual Framework

Based on the research paradigm, this study forwards the

concept that in investigation of identifying the differences

of synthetic fertilizer and organic fertilizer, the process

will center in the advantages and disadvantages of both

fertilizers in order to arrive at the verdict of the farmers

of which of the two is more likely to be used often.

The input box contains the main cause of this study.

There is a need to compare the synthetic and organic

fertilizer to help farmers decide the best product to use in

order to fill the gap of their plants’ limiting factor. A

variety of factors will arise in the process and this will be

categorized into two main subjects, the disadvantages and

advantages of the two fertilizers. Included here is the

15 | P a g e April, 2022
selling price, how much is needed, what type is needed and

the main ingredients used of the fertilizer. To make a

conclusion, the researchers will be using a comparative

method of all the data that have been gathered through survey

using a checklist questionnaire. The last part is the analysis

where conclusion will be formed out of the responses of the

farmers. Whatever result might come out of which fertilizer

is more popular among farmers is their final choice and the

answer that would conclude this research.

Hypotheses of the Study

The following statements are assumed by the researcher:

1. This research forwards the hypothesis that the difference

between synthetic and organic fertilizer is that synthetic

fertilizer is made out of synthesized chemicals of

nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium while organic

fertilizer is made out of natural products that have been

excerpted from living things like animal manure or the

earth.

2. Another hypothesis which concerns the advantage and

disadvantages of synthetic and organic fertilizer presumes

that the advantage of synthetic fertilizer is it effect on

plant is faster than organic but it also kill beneficial

16 | P a g e April, 2022
 microorganisms in the soil that convert dead human and

plant remains into nutrient-rich organic matter. On the

other hand, one of the advantages of organic fertilizer is

that it improves the soil yet it cost higher than synthetic

fertilizer.

3. The final hypothesis is farmers at Sitio Francia May Ogob,

Camarines Sur uses synthetic fertilizer more than organic

fertilizer, or

4. The farmers at Sitio Francia May Ogob, Camarines Sur opt

to utilize more organic fertilizer rather than synthetic

fertilizer.

17 | P a g e April, 2022
Definition of terms

The following terms/expressions are defined conceptually

and operationally:

Farmers. Refers to people who operate a farm or

cultivates land.

Fertilizer. Refers to any material of natural or

synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues

to supply plant nutrients.

Limiting Factor. Refers to anything that constrains a

plant to grow.

Organic fertilizers. Fertilizers that are naturally

available mineral sources that contain moderate amount of

plant essential nutrients.

Synthetic fertilizers. Also known as inorganic

fertilizer are chemically manufactured materials containing

one or more of the primary nutrients necessary for plant

growth: nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.

18 | P a g e April, 2022
 Chapter 2
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDY

This chapter presents the literature and studies which

the researchers were able to find. Most of these related

documents are published articles and researches related to

comparison of synthetic and organic fertilizers.

Fertilizers are substances added to soil to improve the

growth of plants, as well as their yield. While fertilizers

have been around as long as people discovered farming, it has

only been since the past few centuries that chemical or

synthetic fertilizer ones have been developed with the

knowledge of plants’ chemical needs to improve quality and

quantity of food.

The issue between organic and synthetic fertilizer began

with Justus von Liebig. Liebig discovered that plants need

mineral elements such as nitrogen and phosphorus for optimal

growth. His works led to a half century of exploring the

chemical needs of plants to improve on fertilizer

composition. For this, he is referred to as the “Father of

Fertilizer Industry.” Later on, Sir John Lawes (1814-1900)

would discover superphosphate, which became the first

chemical fertilizer.

19 | P a g e April, 2022
 By the 20th century, it was understood that the core

plant nutrients are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.

Nitrogen is considered the most needed nutrient as an

essential building block for assembling amino acids, nucleic

acids, and protein. Plants with less nitrogen tend to be

smaller, less fruitful, and have more of a yellowish color.

With that knowledge plant chemical needs, the chemical

fertilizer industry experienced significant growth,

particularly after World War |, which ended in 1918.

Today, the hot debate of what’s better between organic

and synthetic fertilizer is still up to converse. Although

organic fertilizers are still used today throughout the

world, chemical fertilizers are more popular. Research is

still being conducted regarding of the pros and cons of both

fertilizers as well as to reduce the harmful environmental

effects of its use, and discovering new, less costly sources

of fertilizers.

20 | P a g e April, 2022
Related Literatures

According to an article from Oregon State University,

they talked about the difference between organic and

inorganic fertilizers. Organic fertilizers such as manures,

bone meal, and compost. Inorganic fertilizers such as

ammonium sulfate and ammonium phosphate are often called

synthetic as they are manufacturing processed products.

They elaborated the contents of the said fertilizers and

how it affects the soil and plants. Inorganic fertilizers are

said to have high concentration of minerals while on the other

hand organic has low concentration of minerals in it. But

organic fertilizers is less harmful to the plants and soil.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Joey Salceda

called on the Department of Trade and Industry, to ensure the

supply of fertilizers in the country. “Mark my words, there

will be a global shortage of synthetic fertilizers,” said by

Salceda. He fears the day that synthetic fertilizers will

become a limited supply for every farmers of the Philippines.

“Along with corn prices, this is the major threat to

Philippine food supply. These are the most important inputs

to both livestock and plant food,” added by Salceda. He

pointed that the DTI should make a move to make a resolution

for this dillema. Salceda presented a solution, which is to

21 | P a g e April, 2022
focus and give investment on organic fertilizers “That

includes the production of organic concoctions, which we have

already trained thousands of Albay farmers for, anticipating

this global shortage of inorganic fertilizers.” He pointed

that organic fertilizers is something that could “diversify”

the country’s fertilizers mix. “I think the production of

inorganic fertilizers for commercial use should also be

included in the SIPP, as fertilizers are. If we will mitigate

the effects of the potential shortage and price surges in

inorganic fertilizer on food production, we need to have

substitutes,” Salceda concludes.

According to a study, it says that manure is better than

of inorganic fertilizers. Researchers at University of

Wisconsin-Madison has released a study review on how manure

is better than inorganic fertilizers. Professors Ekrem Ozlu

and Sandeep Kumar, along with their research team, conducted

a study in two fields in South Dakota between 2003 and 2015.

“The soil pH is an important number to know because it

determines the availability of almost all essential plant

nutrients. If the soil pH is not on track, plants will not

have access to nutrients necessary for growth and, therefore,

won’t perform at their best. Nutrients can get trapped in the

soil and will not be released for plant use,” a statement

from Alex Fornshell, an Agronomist with Dakota Agronomy

22 | P a g e April, 2022
Partners. The researchers found out that inorganic

fertilizers has made the soil more acidic, decreased the soil

organic carbon, while the manure did the opposite. The manure

has made the soil organic carbon increase, increased water-

stable aggregates, increased soil electrical conductivity at

all soil depths compared to inorganic fertilizers. “It

supports better soil quality by improving almost all soil

properties. Inorganic fertilizer is better in terms of

electrical conductivity,” Ozlu said. “But it does not improve

other soil properties and crop yields like manure does.”

He added. He suggested that manure is much better than

inorganic fertilizers.

According to the published article of Eco gardener

(2018), there are pros and cons on using organic and chemical

fertilizers. They cited that the benefits of organic

fertilizers are: better soil structure, slow release of

nutrients, No toxin buildup, 100% Eco-friendly, and DIY

organic fertilizers. But aside from this positive responses,

organic fertilizers also have drawbacks like it have limited

effectiveness, slow start, and it is expensive. Compared to

this, chemical fertilizers are affordable, have a fast

results and can come up with standard labeling yet its

drawbacks are: it is not Eco-friendly, doesn’t improve soil

23 | P a g e April, 2022
structure, frequent application and over fertilizer, and can

cause toxic build-up. Among these differences, Eco gardener

stated that choosing the best fertilizer is up to the user’s

preferences, in terms of the cost, availability, and

environmental impact will affect the buying decision.

Lipford (2011) tackled on his published article about

the debate over organic and chemical fertilizers. He cited

the advantage and disadvantages of using organic and chemical

fertilizers which all complemented the article of Eco

gardener (2018). Just like what stated in the latest article,

organic fertilizer really does improve soil structure, does

not harm plants or build-up toxics, an Eco-friendly and could

be DIY yet its disadvantage is like what eco gardener stated,

it has a slow start. For chemical fertilizer, it has fast

result, produce high production, has labeling and inexpensive

but this type of fertilizer has really bad outcome to the

environment. According to his article, organic fertilizers

outweigh the chemical ones and it is up to the user of what

to use but he also reminded that people should consider the

effects of fertilizers to the environment.

Zhang (2021) proposed an article on the issue of organic

fertilizers. He stated that “Organic” fertilizers have an

inorganic problem. This caused when Kegan Hilaire sent his

24 | P a g e April, 2022
mother, Maureen Hilaire, to get worm-poop fertilizer for

their backyard garden in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, last March-

wrote by Zhang. The mother and son happened to be confused of

the organic products being sold in the market. Zhang addressed

what Stephen McMurry said, “Just seeing the word organic

doesn’t necessarily mean it is an [approved] organic input

material.” If this marketing continues, farmers will be

confused of the real definition of organic in farming

specifically in fertilizers which will lead to worse

scenarios like loss of production and declining of yields.

Organic fertilizer and chemical fertilizer both supply

nutrients on plant, yet they are far different from each

other. The misleading “Organic” fertilizers would not help

neither the farmer nor the plant.

On the article of Silva (2018), he put on concentration

of what organic fertilizers mean to plants and soil. According

to him, he stressed out that nutrients derived from organic

fertilizer sources are not as readily available to plants

compared to nutrients from soluble synthetic fertilizers and

supplying all the nitrogen needs of plants using organic

fertilizers may lead to an over-application of phosphorus.

However, he also stated to not overlook the benefits of

organic fertilizers. It still improved soil structure,

produce a season-long supply of nutrients, and an increased

25 | P a g e April, 2022
water-holding capacity. The discussion is still blurry for he

is not contented of the results between organic and

conventional fertilizer as to which organic produces

healthier products.

Bhatnagar (2022) discussed on her article about organic

and Inorganic Fertilizers, their cost, composition, nutrient

availability, application and environmental impact. According

to her “Organic fertilizers produce a healthy growing

environment overtime, whilst Inorganic fertilizers provide

immediate nutrition. She added that the better for plants is

primarily determined by their needs and the user’s

preferences in terms of cost and environmental impact. But in

terms of environmental effects, greenhouse gas emissions from

organic fertilizer production are lower than those from

inorganic fertilizer production.

Oxford University Press (2022) recited the Law of

Minimum by Justus von Liebig. According to this reference,

the concept of Liebig’s law is that the rate of growth of a

plant, the size to which it grows, and its overall health

depend on the amount of the scarcest of its essential

nutrients that is available to it. This concept is now

broadened into a general model of limiting factors for all

organisms, including the limiting effects of excesses of

26 | P a g e April, 2022
chemical nutrients and other environmental factors. This is

the time where chemical fertilizers rose into fame. Organic

fertilizer is a slow starter and said to not be able to give

full nutrients at once compared to chemical treatment which

is enriched with modified NPK.

Pennazio (2012) on his article on Humus: latent phase

and reality, dived into how the humus theory faced challenges

through time. Albrecht Thaer first theorized humus, he

recognized the organic and inorganic content as the

nutritional elements of humus. The role of humus, as nutrient,

however was challenged by Carl Sprengel and Justus Liebig,

who opposed successfully the mineral theory to the theory of

humus. Humus is the product of the decomposition of organic

materials like leaves and animal waste but since Liebig’s

Mineral theory intervened, the acceptance of humus on

nourishing plants was put into question and that’s where

synthesize fertilizers came. Thanks to agronomists and

agricultural chemists during a period in which the mineral

theory was consolidated.

27 | P a g e April, 2022
Related Studies

Ghanbari (2011) experimented on flower, essential oil

and chamazulene yield and yield components of Chamomilla

recutita with the application of organic and inorganic

fertilizer and residual, their effect to the environment and

plant yield in determining the effect of drought stress to

make amendments to the plants. After one year he got the

result where chemical fertilizer caused to make the highest

yield and essential oil in the first year but no improvement

in second year while the residue of animal manure and compost

caused to make high yield for two years and enhanced flowers

thus leading him to recommendation of using organic

fertilizer.

De Urzedo et al. (2013) attempted to identify the effects

of organic and inorganic fertilizers on greenhouse gas (GHG)

emissions in tropical forestry. They aimed to quantify soil

carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4)

emissions from a reforestation project, where trees

(Calophyllum brasiliense) were fertilized with different

mineral and organic waste materials. In the result, they

highlighted that the application of organic wastes to soils

during reforestation induced higher CO2 and N2O emissions

while greatest of organic carbon that was present in organic

28 | P a g e April, 2022
fertilizers remained incorporated in the soil and that there

are different physical and chemical compositions of organic

wastes resulted in different outcomes.

Natsheh and Mousa (2014) evaluated the effect of compost

on cucumber (Cucumis sativum L.) productivity and soil

properties. The results showed that the application of

compost improving the soil characteristics; increasing soil

productivity and organic matter content. Compost application

can compensate use of chemical fertilizers, which have

adverse environmental effects. They also concluded that the

crop productivity with use of organic fertilizers with

compost is higher than with chemical fertilizer.

Baghdadi et al. (2018) studied the impact of organic and

inorganic fertilizers on the yield and quality of silage corn

intercropped with soybean. On their experiment, they used

chemical fertilizers, organic manure, and bio fertilizers

(BFs) and performed Acetylene reduction assays (ARAs) on corn

and soybean roots. On this study, they provided evidence that

neither lone chemical nor lone organic manure fertilizers

produced higher quantity, quality and yield of the crops,

that it was the bio fertilizers who have much greater effects

on the plants.

29 | P a g e April, 2022
 Uka et al. (2013) conducted a greenhouse experiment on

relative effect of organic and inorganic fertilizers on the

growth of okra. For organic fertilizer, they utilized cow

dung and poultry droppings and for inorganic fertilizer they

used NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium). They observed

that the poultry droppings and cow dung gave plants much

positive effects thus concluding that the use of organic

manure in the production of vegetables like okra should be

encouraged.

Ibrahim et al. (2013) investigated the impact of organic

and inorganic fertilizers application on the phytochemical

and antioxidant activity of Kacip Fatimah (Labisia pumila

Benth). The two sources of fertilizers they used was chicken

dung for oraganic fertilizer and NPK green for inorganic

fertilizer. The result of their study says that the use of

organic fertilizer enhanced the production of total

phenolics, flavonoids, ascorbic acid, saponin and

gluthathione content in L. Pumila, compared to the use of

inorganic fertilizer.

Islam et al. (2017) conducted a field trials on the

effects of organic and inorganic fertilizers on soil

properties and the growth, yield and quality of tomato. They

used different types of organic and inorganic fertilizers

30 | P a g e April, 2022
such as vermicompost, compost, integrated plant nutrient

system (IPNS) or mixed fertilizers (organic 2/3 part and

inorganic 1/3 part), inorganic fertilizer and a control. The

result showed that the IPNS treatment caused more growth and

yield than the rest of other fertilizers. They also concluded

that the organic fertilizer improved the electrical

conductivity and pH of the soil.

Lazcano et al. (2013) administered a field study

regarding of the short-term effects of organic and inorganic

fertilizers on soil microbial community structure and

function. On their experiment, they compared three types of

fertilization regimes which are conventional fertilizer

regime with inorganic fertilizer, rabbit manure and

vermicomposting. They observed that the organic fertilizer of

the rabbit manure produced a fast increase in the abundance

of PLFA biomarkers than the inorganic fertilizer and even

they put small amount of the organic one, its amendment is

still visible thus confirming that some of the beneficial

effects of integrated fertilizer strategies may occur in the

short term.

According to Zamora et al. (2015), as they study on

determining the short-term effects of organic and chemical

fertilizers application on rice crop performance, soil animal

31 | P a g e April, 2022
population and microbial diversity, they pointed out that the

organic fertilizers can improve a degraded conventional

lowland rice soils. They discovered that organic fertilizer

that they used was as effective as the commercial chemical

fertilizer on crop growth and yield yet it is still evident

that the organic soil had higher diversity, number of soil

animals and microbe counts than the conventional soil.

Quimbo and Mamaril (2015) discerned that inorganic

fertilizer improved more the grain and straw yield as well as

the AEN of NSIC Rc9 compared to organic fertilizer. In

addition, the application of organic fertilizer did increase

the grain yield of both NSIC Rc9 and Inipot-ibon in two

consecutive cropping and there’s no such significant effect

of varieties or fertilizer management was observed on the

soil organic matter (SOM). They also pinpointed that the

efficacy of organic fertilizer and financial viability in

upland rice have negative result and less profitable.

Until this proposal, after all those attempts and

arguments of what’s better fertilizer remains unresolved, and

farmers remain in quandary as to how could they make vantage

of the products being sold in the market if those available

for them does not have much amendments they need.

32 | P a g e April, 2022
Synthesis

Comparison between organic and synthetic fertilizers has

long been an issue not just in agricultural world but also to

the society and environment. Many studies were conducted to

justify the worth of fertilizers and distinguished which of

these provides better outcome to plants. Recently,

environmental effects of fertilizers began to stirred an

issue again, hence researchers keep on digging and conversing

about the two top most used fertilizer in the world which are

organic fertilizer and synthetic or chemical fertilizer.

Since Justus von Liebig introduced the Mineral Theory,

chemical fertilizers became a trend to agriculture but as

time went by and further researches and investigation were

conducted, people particularly scientists have provided

evidences of the drawbacks of inorganic fertilizer and along

with this, weaknesses of organic fertilizers resurfaced thus

growing more confusion of what is best mend for limiting

factors.

One primary gap of the present studies in identifying

advantage and disadvantages of fertilizers as well as putting

up a comparison of which is a better applicant between organic

and inorganic fertilizers is their focus to farmers.

33 | P a g e April, 2022
 The Law of the Minimum by Justus von Liebig which

proposes that the growth of plant is not dictated by total

resources available, but by the scarcest sources have

provided the researchers a starting point of why comparison

of synthetic and organic fertilizers should be seen in the

point of view of the real farmers. An analysis of such method

shows that the most effective way that could answer the debate

between organic and inorganic fertilizers is through

inquiring to the people who always use it because they have

the experience knowledge of how effective the fertilizers

are. In order to fill the basin of limiting factors that was

introduced by Leibig, study of Quimbo and Mamaril as well as

the article of Silva has complemented the Mineral Theory of

Leibig how chemical fertilizers do much better in nourishing

plants and coping with such limiting factors. On the other

hand, studies of Ghanbari, Natsheh and Mousa, Uka et al, Islam

et al, Ibrahim et al, and articles of Bhatnagar, Lipford and

Researchers at Oregon State University, although organic

fertilizer has a slow starter, it’s effect specially to soil

and environment is way much better than synthetic fertilizer.

All of these articles and studies focused on their

investigation and analysis on plants yet no one seized the

opportunity of making the farmers as main subjects of the

34 | P a g e April, 2022
comparison since they are the ones who keeps on noticing the

scarcity of plants and buying supplements for it.

The researchers will investigate further the advantages

and disadvantages of organic and synthetic fertilizers

through the farmers’ perception of how these two effectively

play their role in farming.

The researchers will attempt to build a bridge for the

farmers to know the weight of every substance they put to

their plant, does this help them and their plants or does

this constrains them to have a healthier and lucrative yield.

Through assessing their responses, the researchers can make

a conclusion of where the data from farmers can lead people

to better understanding of the difference of organic and

inorganic fertilizers and how one of these proves more it’s

essential to both plant and farmer.

35 | P a g e April, 2022
 Chapter 3
METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the method that will be used in

study, the population and sampling technique, the research

instrument, the data gathering procedure, data processing and

the statistical treatment of data.

Research Design

This study used the Descriptive-Comparative Research

Design to identify which fertilizer farmers prefer to use

between synthetic and organic fertilizer as well as their

differences. According to Formplus Blog (2022), in

descriptive-comparative research, the researcher considers 2

variables that are not manipulated, and establish a formal

procedure to conclude that one is better than the other. This

well suits our research main objective as we try to find out

which is a much better fertilizer for the farmers.

36 | P a g e April, 2022
Population and Sampling Techniques

The population of the study are the farmers using

fertilizers to be represented by the 15 farmers of Sitio

Francia May ogob, Camarines Sur. The researchers used

purposive sampling method based on the goal and purpose of

this research. Purposive sampling is a form of non-

probability sampling in which researchers rely on their own

judgment when choosing members of the population to

participate in their surveys- Business Research Methodology

(2022) for as the researchers believe that these farmers could

directly fill the purpose of this study.

Research Instrument

The instrument utilized for this study to gather data

was the questionnaire which was prepared by the researchers.

Researchers opt to this considering that this is an efficient

tool for them to collect the necessary data and farmers could

also easily comprehend and answer the given set of questions.

The questions prepared was outlined from the research’s

Review of Related Literature and Studies, Research Paradigm

and the Statement of the Problem. The questionnaire consists

of two parts. The first part is a combination of the yes or

37 | P a g e April, 2022
no type of question and subjective type of question where

respondents can freely give their own answer. The second part

is a checklist type where respondents could only choose answer

between SF (Synthetic Fertilizer) or OF (Organic Fertilizer).

There are five questions on first part and twenty statements

on part two with the total of 25 items.

Data Gathering Procedure

Before the survey was conducted, the questionnaire made

by the researcher was first validated. Researcher then sought

the permission of the farmers of Sitio Francia May ogob,

Camarines Sur to find an appropriate schedule for the

gathering of data.

After the letter was approved, the researcher

administered the survey by guiding the farmers through a

little discussion of the need to conduct the study.

Furthermore, since there is still the presence of the virus,

health protocols were followed and only one member who is

living in the same locale conducted the survey. The

administration of the instrument to the respondents as well

as the retrieval were done personally by the researcher for

most of the respondents do not have capability to do it

38 | P a g e April, 2022
online. Farmers/respondents were guided as they answer the

research instrument.

Data Processing

After the data was gathered, these were inputted to a

data processing table. On the questionnaire, the first part

is a combination of yes or no and subjective type of question.

To analyse the given data, the percentage will be applied to

the yes or no questions. If the number of yes has the highest

result, the remarks would be accept and reject if no. The

same statistical tool will be used to the subjective type.

For clarity, they will be separated into two tables since

they are different regarding with the type of question. The

second part corresponds to the second and third SOP hence

another two tables will be made and the same formula for

finding the percentage will be utilized and whichever between

SF and OF got the highest result then it will be the final

interpretation. All in all, there will be 4 tables. The first

table supports the second one for SOP 1, table 3 for SOP 2

and table 4 for SOP 3.

39 | P a g e April, 2022
Statistical Treatment of Data

For the ground that this is a descriptive comparative

research design, researcher used the formula below as a

statistical tool as well as verbal interpretation to analyse

data.

Verbal Interpretation:

SF- Synthetic Fertilizer

OF- Organic Fertilizer

The formula in finding percentage is:

𝐹
𝑃= × 100
𝑁

Where:

P = Percentage

F = Frequency

N = Number of respondents

40 | P a g e April, 2022
 Assignment of Task
 Power point- Kathlea
 Topics to discuss
Lucky
- Background of the Study
- Statement of the Problem
- Related Literatures
- Synthesis
- Research Instrument
- Statistical Treatment of Data
Jeneses
- Significance of the Study
- Scope and Limitation
- Hypotheses of the Study
- Definition of Terms
- Population and Sampling Techniques
- Data Gathering Procedure
Jasmine
- Theoretical Framework
- Research Paradigm
- Conceptual Framework
- Related Studies
- Research Design
- Data Processing

41 | P a g e April, 2022