Obj. 24.02 List the different types of fertilizers & the advantages & disadvantages of each.

Types of fertilizers: Complete or Incomplete Complete – has all 3 primary nutrients (N, P, K) Ex. 10-10-10, 15-30-15 Incomplete – is missing one or more of the primary nutrients Ex. 0-20-0, 12-0-44

Organic or Inorganic Organic – comes from plant or animal matter & contains carbon. Ex. Urea, sludge, animal tankage. Advantages: includes slow release of nutrients; not easily leached from soil & add organic components to growing media Disadvantages: hard to get, expensive, not sterile, low nutrient content

Inorganic – comes from sources other than animals or plants (chemical products) Advantages – able to make the desired ratio of nutrients, lower cost, easy to get Disadvantages – no organic material & possible chemical build up in growing media

Soluble or Insoluble Soluble – dissolve in water & are applied as a liquid solution Fertigation is fertilizing through irrigation water (advantage). Insoluble – includes granular & slow release applied to the growing media.

Granular – relatively inexpensive & easy to find Granular – relatively inexpensive & easy to find. Slow release – more expensive than granular because it is coated. -gives a more uniform release of nutrients over time period.

Fertilizer analysis – expresses the percent (%) by weight of N, P, K Ex. 10-15-20 (10% N, 15% P, & 20% K) Ratio – a comparison Ex. 1-1-1 is the ratio for 10-10-10 fertilizer What’s the ratio for 24-8-16 fertilizer? 3:1:2