Chapter No.
1
Overview of Fertilizers
Fertilizers are organic or inorganic substances containing chemical elements that improve the
growth of plants and the fertility of the soil.
• Fertilizers are chemical substances supplied to the crops to increase their productivity.
These are used by the farmers daily to increase the crop yield.
• The fertilizers contain the essential nutrients required by the plants, including nitrogen,
potassium, and phosphorus. They enhance the water retention capacity of the soil and
also increase its fertility.
CLASSIFICATION OF FERTILIZERS
• 1. Straight fertilizers: Straight fertilizers are those which supply only one primary plant
nutrient, namely nitrogen or phosphorus or potassium.
eg. Urea, ammonium sulphate, potassium chloride and potassium sulphate.
• 2. Complex fertilizers: Complex fertilizers contain two or three primary plant nutrients
of which two primary nutrients are in chemical combination. These fertilisers are usually
produced in granular form.
eg. Diammonium phosphate, nitrophosphates and ammonium phosphate.
• 3. Mixed fertilizers: are physical mixtures of straight fertilisers. They contain two or
three primary plant nutrients. Mixed fertilisers are made by thoroughly mixing the
ingredients either mechanically or manually.
Essential elements
• There are 15 essential elements that nutrient elements obtained from atmosphere through
photosynthesis
• Hydrogen
• Carbon
• Oxygen
• Nutrient elements obtained from the soil
• Nitrogen
• Phosphorus
• Potassium
• Sulfur
• Magnesium
• Calcium
• Iron
• Boron
• Manganese
• Zinc
• Molybdenum
• Copper
Types of micro nutrients
• Primary nutrients, also known as macronutrients, are those usually required in the
largest amounts. They are carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and
potassium.
• Secondary nutrients are those usually needed in moderate amounts compared to the
primary essential nutrients. The secondary nutrients are calcium, magnesium, and sulfur.
• Micro- or trace nutrients are required in tiny amounts compared to primary or
secondary nutrients. Micronutrients are boron, chlorine, copper, iron, manganese,
molybdenum, and zinc.
Importance & Application of Fertilizer Nutrients
Nitrogen is considered to be the most important nutrient, and plants absorb more
nitrogen than any other element. Nitrogen is essential to in making sure plants are
healthy as they develop and nutritious to eat after they’re harvested. That’s because
nitrogen is essential in the formation of protein, and protein makes up much of the
tissues of most living things.
Phosphorus, is linked to a plant’s ability to use and store energy, including the process
of photosynthesis. It’s also needed to help plants grow and develop normally.
Phosphorus in commercial fertilizers comes from phosphate rock
Potassium is the third key nutrient of commercial fertilizers. It helps strengthen
plants’ abilities to resist disease and plays an important role in increasing crop yields
and overall quality. Potassium also protects the plant when the weather is cold or dry,
strengthening its root system and preventing wilt.
Calcium
The primary function of calcium in plant growth is to provide structural support to cell walls.
Calcium also serves as a secondary messenger when plants are physically or biochemically
stressed.
Magnesium
Magnesium is the central atom amid four nitrogen atoms in the chlorophyll molecule, so it is
involved in photosynthesis. It serves as an activator for many enzymes required in plant growth
processes and stabilizes the nucleic acids.
Interveinal chlorosis is a deficiency symptom in crops such as legumes, corn, sorghum, cotton,
and certain leafy vegetables. (Interveinal chlorosis is a yellowing between the veins while the
veins remain green.) The leaves may become pink to light red and may curl upward along the
Sulfur
Sulfur is needed in fairly large quantities by most crops. It is an essential building block in
chlorophyll development and protein synthesis. Sulfur is required by the rhizobia bacteria in
legumes for nitrogen fixation. In general, crops remove about as much sulfur as they do
phosphorus. Grasses remove sulfur more efficiently than legumes, and clovers often disappear
from pasture mixtures when sulfur is low.
Feedstock & Raw materials for Nitrogenous fertilizer
• The most important raw material required for production of nitrogen fertilizers is
ammonia which provides nitrogen to all the nitrogen fertilizers and nitrogen based
compound fertilizers.
• Requirement of other materials depends on the choice of nitrogen fertilizer to be
produced.
• For instance, urea production requires carbon dioxide and ammonia, whereas
manufacture of ammonium sulphate requires sulphuric acid which is produced from
sulphur.
Phosphatic fertilizers
Phosphatic fertilizers are chemical substances that contain the nutrient phosphorus in absorbable
form (Phosphate anions) or that yield after conversion in the soil.
Super phosphate [Ca (H2PO4)2)
1. This is the most important phosphatic fertilizer in use.
2. It contains 16 Per cent P2O5 in available form.
3. It is a grey ash like powder with good keeping or storage qualities.
4. Phosphatic fertilizer hardly moves in the soil and hence they are placed in the, root zone.
Triple super phosphate:
1. The concentrated super phosphate is called as Triple super phosphate and it contains 46
per cent P2O5.
2. This fertilizer is suitable for all crops and all soils.
3. In acid soils, it should be used in conjunction with organic manure.
4. It can be applied before or at sowing or transplanting.
Potassic fertilizers
Potassic fertilizers are chemical substances containing potassium in absorbed form (K+). There
are two potassium fertilizers viz., muriate of potash (KCI) and sulphate of potash (K2S04).They
are water soluble and so are readily available to plants.
a) Potassium chloride (KCI)
1. Potassium chloride or muriate of potash is a white or red, crystal containing 60.0 per cent
K2O.
2. It is completely soluble in water and therefore readily available to the crops.
3. It is not lost from the soil, as it is absorbed on the colloidal surfaces.
4. It can be applied at sowing or before or after sowing.
5. The chlorine content is about 47.0 per cent.
6. Its chlorine content is objectionable to some crops like tobacco, potato, etc where quality
is the consideration.
b) Potassium sulphate (K2S04)
1. Potassium sulphate or sulphate of potash is a white salt and contains 48 per cent K2O.
2. It is soluble in water and therefore readily available to the crop.
3. It does not produce any acidity or alkalinity in the soil.
4. It is prefered for fertilization of crops like tobacco, potato etc., where quality is of prime
importance.
5. It is costly because it is made by treating potassium chloride with magnesium sulphate. .
Secondary major-nutrient fertilizers
a. Magnesium fertilizers
These are chemical substances containing the nutrient magnesium in the form of magnesium
cations (Mg2+).
Magnesium Sulphate (MgSO4)
The utilization rate of magnesium fertilizers decreases w,ith incr,easing potassium supplies.
b. Calcium fertilizers
1. These are the chemical substances containing the nutrient calcium in absorbable calcium
cations ('Ca2+) form.
2. The raw material of calcium fertilizers is lime found in nature.
Calcium Chloride (CaCl2 6H2O)
1. It contains at least 15 per cent calcium.
2. It is highly water soluble and can, therefore, be dissolved for application as a foliar
nutrient.
c. Sulphate Fertilizers
1. These are chemical substances containing the nutrient sulphur in the form of absorbable
sulphate anions (SO42-).
2. The sulphur requirements of plants are about two third of their phosphorus requirements.
3. Substantial sulphur supplies occur as minor constituents of various N, P and K fertilizers.
4. Fertilization with sulphur becomes necessary with increasing removal from the soil with
rising agricultural production especially in plants with high sulphur requirements. e.g.
mustard
Development of fertilizer industry in India
A modest beginning with respect to manufacturing of chemcial fertilizers was made in 1906
when the first super-phosphate factory was set up at Ranipet in Tamil Nadu. The actual growth
of fertilizer indsutry is mainly a post-Independence phenomena. The setting up of the Sindri
plant by the Fertilizer Corporation of India Ltd. (FCI) in 1951 was a turning point and this
industry did not look back after that.
It is now one of the fastest growing basic industries which have taken rapid strides in recent
years. It produces a wide range of fertilizers to suit different soil and crop requirements in
different parts of the country. India is now the third largest producer of nitrogenous fertilizers in
the world.
At present, there are 57 fertilizer units manufacturing a wide range of nitrogenous and complex
fertilizers, including 29 units producing urea and 9 units producing ammonia sulphate as a by-
product. Besides, there are about 64 medium and small scale units producing single
superphosphate.
The production capacity has increased from a modest 85,000 tonnes in 1951-52 to 199.98 lakh
tonnes as on 1 April 2004 and that of phosphatic fertilizers from 63,000 tonnes to 54.20 lakh
tonnes during the same period. Although the production of both nitrogenous and phosphatic
fertilizers has increased rapidly over the years, the nitrogenous fertilizer has shown much better
progress than the phosphatic fertilizers.
The production of both nitrogenous and phosphatic fertilizers stood at nine thousand tonnes each
in 1950-51, but in 2003-04 the production of phosphatic fertilizers was only 3,567 thousand
tonnes while that of nitrogenous fertilizers stood at 10,632 thousand tonnes (see Table 27.23).
Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh Punjab and Kerala are the
main fertilizer producing states and account for about half of the total fertilizers produced in
India. Orissa, Rajasthan, Bihar, Assam, West Bengal, Goa, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and
Karnataka are the other producers.
Demand of Fertilizer in India
Population of India is growing very rapidly and Indian government had doubt that the
country would not be able to grow enough food to feed the increasing population. So the
government introduced green revolution program in 1967-68. Under green revolution
program IADP (Integrated agriculture development program) has been launched and with
the help of modern technology, Indian government was successful to increase agricultural
production and productivity of land. Agricultural policy focused in India across decades
has been on self-sufficiency and self-reliance in food grains production. Agriculture
production dependents upon various factors like climate condition, techniques of farming,
irrigation facilities, seed quality, seed variety, soil properties, cropping pattern, prevention
from pests etc, but more importantly usage of optimum primary, secondary and micro
nutrients. Fertiliser is an important factor of agricultural production. It strengthens the soil
and enhances its fertility. There was increasing demand for fertilisers. To meet the demand
of farmers the fertilisers were imported. The government decided to established fertiliser
manufacturing within the home country. At present, the fertilizer industry in India has
three major players private, public and cooperative.
Production of fertilizer
To meet the increasing demand of fertilisers various production unit have been established
in public, cooperative and private sector. The first fertiliser unit in India was established in
1906 as a single super phasphet (SSP) manufacturing unit having 6000 MT annual capacity
near Ranipet. After that, to achieve self-sufficiency in food grain first large sized fertilizer
plant, The Fertilizer and Chemicals Travancore of India Ltd. (Fact) at cochin in Kerala and
fertilizers corporation of India (FCI) in Sindri in Bihar (now Jharkhand) has been
established in the forties and fifties. A green revolution took place in India in the 1960s
and this increased the use of fertiliser in the country.
Over the last 50 year a series of changes have taken place in fertiliser industries in India.
Because of government favourable policy toward fertiliser industries large scale
investment has been done in all three sector viz public, private and cooperative. For
fulfilling demand of fertiliser product there was need to increase production unit and also
total installed capacity of the Government owned public Sector undertakings, Cooperative
Societies and units from Private sector.
