What are Fertilizers?
- Chemical or natural substances added to soil
- Supply essential plant nutrients
- Main nutrients: Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), Potassium (K) → NPK
- Increase crop yield
- Very important in modern agriculture
Why Do We Need Fertilizers?
- Continuous farming removes soil nutrients
- Plants take N, P, K from soil
- Harvested crops remove nutrients permanently
- Natural return of nutrients is very slow
- Fertilizers quickly replenish lost nutrients
- Help produce more food from same land
Types of Fertilizers
- Chemical fertilizers – made in factories
- Organic fertilizers – from plant/animal waste
- Biofertilizers – contain living microorganisms
NPK Fertilizers
- Nitrogen (N) – e.g. Urea, Ammonium sulphate
- Phosphorus (P) – e.g. DAP, SSP
- Potassium (K) – e.g. Muriate of Potash (MOP)
Organic Fertilizers
- Made from natural sources: cow dung, compost, vermicompost
- Improve soil structure
- Increase water holding capacity
- Eco-friendly and safe
- Release nutrients slowly
Biofertilizers
- Living microorganisms that help nutrient uptake
- Rhizobium – fixes nitrogen in legumes
- Azotobacter – free-living nitrogen fixer
- Blue-green algae – used in paddy fields
- Eco-friendly → reduce chemical fertilizer use
Effects of Excess Fertilizers
- Burning / scorching of plants
- Soil becomes too saline
- Water pollution → eutrophication (algae bloom)
- Long-term loss of soil fertility
- Best practice: Use balanced & required amount only
Interactive Simulation: See the Effect of NPK
Drag and drop one fertilizer type onto the plant area and observe how the plant changes over days!
🌱 Fertilizer Plant Growth Simulator
Apply one fertilizer at a time and watch the difference
Fertilizers to Drag
Nitrogen
Phosphorus
Potassium
Day 0
No fertilizer used - Plant is weak and small