What Kind of Fertilizer Is NPK Fertilizer? Understanding Fertilizer Knowledge in One Article

During the growth process of plants, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium play a crucial role. So, what kind of fertilizer is NPK fertilizer? What are its effects?

1. What kind of fertilizer is NPK fertilizer?

NPK fertilizer is a fertilizer that supplements plants with the three elements nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Since plants take away relatively large amounts of nutrient elements during growth and harvest, these nutrients often need to be replenished by applying NPK fertilizer.

2. What are the effects of NPK fertilizer?

1. Nitrogen fertilizer: that is, chemical fertilizer with nitrogen nutrient elements as its main component, including ammonium bicarbonate, urea, ammonium nitrate, ammonia water, ammonium chloride, ammonium sulfate, etc.

2. Phosphate fertilizer: that is, chemical fertilizer with phosphorus nutrient elements as its main component, including ordinary superphosphate, calcium magnesium phosphate fertilizer, etc.

3. Potassium fertilizer: that is, chemical fertilizer with potassium nutrient elements as its main component. At present, it is not applied much, and the main varieties include potassium chloride, potassium sulfate, potassium nitrate, etc.

3. How should NPK fertilizer be used?

1. It should be applied by category, that is, the type of compound fertilizer should be selected according to the soil and the crop: cereal crops such as rice, corn and sorghum need more nitrogen fertilizer, so nitrogen-phosphorus compound fertilizer can be selected; legume crops can fix free nitrogen in the air, so phosphorus-potassium compound fertilizer can be selected; and for cash crops, ternary or multi-element compound fertilizers suitable for the local soil and climatic conditions can be selected.

2. It should be applied in proportion, that is, applied in combination with single-element fertilizers. The nutrient components in compound fertilizer are fixed, and only by applying it in combination with various single-element fertilizers can the nutrient needs of crops at different stages be met.

3. It should be applied scientifically, mainly meaning that the application method should be appropriate. Clayey soil has strong fertilizer retention capacity, so it should be applied deeply; sandy soil easily loses fertilizer, so it can be applied in small amounts several times; compound fertilizer containing ammonium nitrogen should be applied deeply and covered with soil to reduce losses; compound fertilizer containing phosphorus and potassium nutrients should be applied in a concentrated way near the root system, which not only avoids nutrients being fixed but also facilitates crop absorption and utilization; potassium dihydrogen phosphate, which is relatively expensive, generally should not be used as a base fertilizer.