Some considerations on fertilization and fertilizers.

Dear readers, soil, as we all know, is one of the fundamental elements of agricultural ecosystems. It has functions of interest such as providing ideal conditions for seeds to germinate, serving as a support for plants and supplying essential nutrients for their growth and development. In some agroecosystems, soils do not have the necessary fertility and fertility is related to the physical, chemical, biological and nutritional characteristics of the soil. In this publication we will address aspects related to fertilization and the type of fertilizers that can be used to cover nutritional deficiencies in the soil.

Let's start by defining what is FERTILIZATION, from my point of view as a professional in the area of agriculture, fertilization is an agronomic practice that consists in the supply of nutritional elements that are in deficiency in the soil, to determine the nutritional level of the soil it is advisable to take samples and take them to the laboratory to have accurate results thus avoiding unnecessary expenses in fertilizers. On the other hand, when we refer to the term FERTILIZERS, we refer to substances of either natural or synthetic origin that are applied to the soil to supplement the nutritional deficiencies of the soil and therefore increase crop production.

In the same vein, it is important to know the nutrients that plants need in smaller and larger quantities for their development, for example, nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg) among others that are known as macronutrients because plants need them in larger quantities for their physiological processes such as photosynthesis, There are also micronutrients that although plants need them in smaller quantities, they are essential for the growth and development of plants, among them are Zinc (Zn), Copper (Cu), Manganese, among others.

Taking into account what was mentioned in the previous paragraph, when working with a specific crop it is important to know what plant structures you want to develop, in our case we generally work with forage species, therefore, experience and logic makes us infer that one of the most important elements and that I need to have in balance for the growth of pastures is nitrogen, because this element significantly influences the growth of plants and in pastures growth translates into production of green biomass, i.e. production of leaves, which is the primary food of ruminants. This is not to underestimate the role of other elements such as phosphorus for the root and physiological development of the plant. In future articles we will detail the function of each of the nutritional elements in plants.

Now, after knowing briefly which are the essential nutritional elements for plants, the question would be which products have these nutrients, the answer is simple FERTILIZERS, which can be synthetic or inorganic which are chemical products that are obtained through industrial processes in laboratories among which is the Urea that contains 46% nitrogen; There are also organic fertilizers, which are those that are obtained naturally with the decomposition of organic vegetable or animal matter and are also obtained through artisanal processes where companies or producers make products based on organic materials such as bovine manure or crop residues.

Of the types of fertilizers mentioned above, synthetic fertilizers have a faster action on plants because they present inorganic elements that are easily assimilated by plants, on the contrary, organic fertilizers, as their name says, present organic compounds that once applied need to go through a transformation process (decomposition and mineralization) to become natural inorganic elements that can be used by plants. Although organic fertilizers take a little longer to show results, they are more effective in the long term because they help to improve soil structure, maintain the soil biota active and provide natural elements through a natural process of the agoecosystem.

Finally, it is important to mention that synthetic fertilizers, if not applied properly, can cause some external problems due to water pollution, since in agricultural production systems the excess of water can transfer nitrate (NO3-) to the deepest soil horizons, Depending on the intensity of irrigation and rainfall, they can sometimes reach the aquifers, a situation that can affect the water resources of rural communities, a situation that does not occur with organics because, as mentioned above, they are degraded by natural processes generated by soil microorganisms.

Dear readers, thank you for staying with us until the end, in future articles we will provide more information about soil management.