5.3 Fertilizer

• Fertilisers contain minerals 
• nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium
• Helps plants grow Bigger + faster
• Crop yields are increased
• Nitrogen
• Makes protines
• Phosphates
• Make DNA/Membrane structure
• The minerals are dissolved first in water
• Plants can absorb them through the roots
• Active transport
• Types of fertilizer
• Organic Fertilizers
• Made from farmyard feces
• Mixture of animal manure and straw
• Goes through decomposition and fermentation
• Forms "Slurry"
• Applied to the fields afterwards
• Provides the important minerals for growth
• Inorganic/Artificial
• Made from inorganic compounds
• Potassium Nitrate
• Ammonium nitrate
• Formulated to obtain a specific amount carefully
• Applies as a solution with water
• The nitrates are released and absorbed by the roots
• Eutrophication
• Occurs when farmers apply inorganic fertilizers
• other mineral ions lost from removing the crops
• These ions are very soluble
• Easily leached from the soil
• Carried by water
• Can enter water ways
• Levels of the nitrates increases rapidly in lakes and rivers
• Increase in mineral ions
• Eutrophication
• Natural process resulting in bad waterways
• Due to the leaching ions
• Process
• Nitrate levels increase
• algae rreproduce rapidly
• Using the nitrates to make extra proteins
• Produces algai bloom
• Algea prevents light penetrating into water
• Plants unable to photosynthesize
• Dies
• Bacteria decay on dead plants
• Alge also dies
• Lack of nitrates
• The bacteria reproduces
• large amount of dead matter
• The water becomes anoxic
• without oxygen
• All life in the water dies