preview

The Benefits and Impications of Using Fertilisers for Improving Plant Productivity To the Environment

Decent Essays

The Benefits and Impications of Using Fertilisers for Improving Plant Productivity To the Environment

In my point of view I think that fertilizers are of use to the environment in some ways but can also be potentially damaging in others. The term fertilisers is stated as " A substance usually added to soil to increase its ability to support plant growth" by Encarta. This shows that fertilisers are needed to keep soil in good conditions to allow the maximum productivity for plant growth. This is why they are important to the agricultural industry because they allow maximum productivity and higher yields, meaning more money for the farmer. But fertilisers can also be potentially hazardous to the …show more content…

Nitrogen is the most important nutrient it is needed for the making of amino acids and proteins, which is needed for growth, but nitrogen can easily be leached out of the soil. Nitrates are negatively charged and do not stick to the negatively charged clay particles, this means they can easily leach out of the soil and cause harm to the environment. This could lead to eutrophication (explained later on). Also ammonia on the other hand is NH4+ ,which means that it is held by the negative charges in the clay and cannot be directly used, so fertilisers are not always very useful.

Phosphorus (P), is also needed by plants for ATP, nucleic acid and phospholipid's. This is not held in the soil for very long so is often added when the seeds are sewn called banding this is to ensure that the nutrient is in the soil when it is needed for growth. This element can become fixed in the soil it is not freely moving allowing problems with uptake from the plant. And potassium, which is mainly, lastly needed in large quantities from the plant the role of opening and closing the stomata in the leaves. There is often a lack of it in the soil.

So fertilisers add these vital nutrients in the soil, to allow the plant to be in a healthy condition and have maximum productivity for

Get Access