8 Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Organic Fertilizer

The correct answer is A Farmers use integrated pest management technique to decrease the amount of fertilizer and sediment runoff into aquatic ecosystems.

Commercial growers often use synthetic fertilizer because it speeds up the growth process of their crop. However, overuse of synthetic fertilizers over time can deplete soils of natural microorganisms and nutrients.

• What is an organic fertilizer? Organic fertilizer is usually made from plant or animal waste – think manure or compost.
• Soil Structure.
• Microbes Thrive.
• Sustainable and Environmentally Friendly.
• Reduce Fertilizers and Pesticides.
• Plant Damage Threat Avoided.
• Not All Products Are Created Equally.
• Nutrient Levels Are Low.

When manure or commercial fertilizers enter surface water, the nutrients they release stimulate microorganism growth. The growth and reproduction of microorganisms reduce the dissolved oxygen content of the water body. Without sufficient dissolved oxygen in surface water, fish and other aquatic species suffocate.

Disadvantages of Fertilizers

• They are expensive.
• The ingredients in the fertilizers are toxic to the skin and respiratory system.
• Excessive use of fertilizers damages the plants and reduces soil fertility.
• Leaching occurs and the fertilizers reach the rivers causing eutrophication.

However, the use of excess fertilizer can result in a number of problems, such as nutrient loss, surface water and groundwater contamination, soil acidification or basification, reductions in useful microbial communities, and increased sensitivity to harmful insects (Chen 2006.

List of the Best 15 Common Organic Fertilizers

• Alfalfa meal: 2.5% N, 1% P, 1.5% K. Slow to moderate.
• Bat guano: 8% N, 6% P, 1% K. Moderate to immediate.
• Fish emulsion: 9% N, 0% P, 0% K.
• Cotton seed meal: 6% N, 3% P, 1% K.
• Corn gluten meal: 0.5% N, 0.5% P, 1% K.
• Seaweed: 1% N, 2% P, 5% K.
• Cow manure: 2.5% N, 1% P, 1.5% K.
• Chicken manure (poultry): 3.5% N, 1.5% P, 1.5% K.

The use of organic fertilizers has advantage of being cheap, improving soil structure, texture and aeration increasing the soils water retention abilities and stimulating healthy root development. Organic fertilizer has many sources such as minerals, animal source, sewage sludge and plant.

Organic fertilizer application has been reported to improve crop growth by supplying plant nutrients including micronutrients as well as improving physical, chemical, and biological properties of the soil, thereby providing a better environment for root development by improving the soil structure [14].

improve the efficiency of nutrient use to produce more robust crops; facilitate the slow release of nutrients in response to the dynamic needs of plants; boost the efficiency of water use to render crops more resilient and drought-resistant; reduce the impact of farming and safeguard ecosystems by minimizing leaching.

Benefits of Using Organic Fertilizer

• Offer the best nutrients for effective plant growth.
• Much more gentle than chemical fertilizers.
• Less likely to overfeed your plants.
• Not immediately absorbed into the plants.
• Can withstand heavy rainstorms and irrigation sessions that could wash away chemical fertilizer.
• Soil structure is improved.

Animal-based fertilizers available to both organic and conventional growers include blood meal, bone meal, feather meal and fish meal. Of these, feather meal (13-0-0) is highest in nitrogen and bone meal (1-13-0) is highest in phosphorus. Fish meal has a 9-3-1 percent NPK makeup and blood meal is 12-0-0.

The chief examples of organic fertilizers include fish extracts, plant waste from agriculture, animal waste, treated sewage sludge, and peat.

Typical organic fertilizers include mineral sources, all animal waste including meat processing, manure, slurry, and guano, plant based fertilizers, such as compost, and biosolids.

Organic fertilizers are made from mined rock minerals, and natural plant and animal materials. They include ingredients like manure, guano, dried and powdered blood, ground bone, crushed shells, finely pulverized fish, phosphate rock, and wood.

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Organically derived fertilizers often provide the secondary and micronutrients plants need, usually absent in synthetic fertilizers. Organically derived fertilizers typically have a lower NPK analysis (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) than synthetics fertilizers, but they feed plants for a much longer period of time.

You can use both organic and synthetic fertilizers. For immediate results, you may need to feed with synthetic fertilizers while adding organic fertilizer blends to rebuild soil health over time. Whatever fertilizer you choose to use, make sure to apply it according to the package directions.

Synthetic fertilizers are not allowed in certified organic products, but select pesticides are allowed. The NOP requirements provide a list of synthetic substances that may be used in organic production as long as these do not contaminate crops, soil or water.

Many synthetic fertilizers provide a fast release of nutrients into the soil, which provides fast growth or green color, but can also make it easy to over-fertilize plants.

Yes, use of manure should be preferred over organic fertilizers. Use of manure increases the yirld as the chemical damage done to the crops by fertilizers is nullified. 2. It also enhances the physical properties of the soil structure and lightens the texture of the soil, enhancing rainfall infiltration.

Comparison chart

Organic manure or organic fertilizer is made up of organic biodegradable waste like animal excreta and agriculture wastes. As it biodegradable it cannot harm the environment and increase the soil fertility it is better than chemical fertilizer.

Organic fertilizers contain plant- or animal-based materials that are either a byproduct or end product of naturally occurring processes, such as animal manure and composted organic materials.

Organic fertilizers are better for soil and environmental sustainability as well as human heath, however, they could no help to feed the whole world and full fill the food demand which is high due to increased population.

Though chemical fertilizers increase crop production; their overuse has hardened the soil, decreased fertility, strengthened pesticides, polluted air and water, and released greenhouse gases, thereby bringing hazards to human health and environment as well.