Obj. 6.02Obj. 6.02

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, 15-30-15Incomplete – is missing one or more of the primary nutrients

Ex. 0-20-0, 12-0-44

•Organic or InorganicOrganic – 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 getDisadvantages – no organic material & possible chemical build up in growing media

• Soluble or InsolubleSoluble – 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. 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