Methods to Improve Fertilizer Use Efficiency and Storage Tips

Fertilizer refers to a class of substances that provide one or more nutrient elements essential to plants, improve soil properties, and raise the level of soil fertility, and is one of the material foundations of agricultural production.So how do you improve fertilizer use efficiency? How do you store it?

How do you improve fertilizer use efficiency?

1. Improve basic farmland infrastructure and strengthen water storage and retention capacity. Farmland construction should ensure that heavy water can be drained quickly, small amounts of water can recede fast, water can be diverted when drought occurs, and water can be used to regulate fertilizer, so that fertilizer applied to the soil can be rapidly dissolved, transformed, and utilized, reducing waste caused by an imbalanced water-fertilizer environment.

2. Apply more organic fertilizer and use farmyard manure and chemical fertilizer together. Fully decomposed farmyard manure has relatively complete nutrient content. Persisting in applying chemical fertilizer together with organic fertilizer can, first, improve the physical and chemical properties of the soil and enhance soil fertility; second, allow slow-release and quick-release fertilizers to complement each other's advantages; and third, reduce the volatilization and loss of chemical fertilizer, enhance fertilizer retention performance, and more quickly improve the capacity to supply nutrients.

3. Apply fertilizer according to scientific formulas and avoid one-sided application of single-element chemical fertilizers. Balanced fertilization according to formula should be carried out for different soils and different crops, which not only prevents the antagonistic effects caused by excessive use of single-element chemical fertilizers that suppress the nutritional function of other elements, but also meets the needs of different crops for different major nutrient elements. For example, for soil with a relatively high sand content, more potassium fertilizer should be applied; for fields planted with rapeseed and cotton, more boron fertilizer should be applied; at the same time, corresponding trace elements such as zinc, magnesium, and molybdenum should also be supplementally applied according to different soil types and different crops.

4. Continuously update fertilization techniques to effectively ensure fertilization quality. First, advocate the application of high-content multi-element compound fertilizers and reduce the application of low-content compound fertilizers; second, actively trial high-energy organic-inorganic compound fertilizers; third, promote organic-inorganic compound fertilizers; fourth, apply in combination fertilizers that both fertilize and control pests and contain high levels of beneficial microorganisms; fifth, emphasize deep application of fertilizer; sixth, apply according to a reasonable dosage; and seventh, in places where conditions permit, use drip irrigation to apply liquid fertilizer evenly.

How should fertilizer be stored?

1. Prevent moisture regain and deterioration: for example, ammonium bicarbonate readily absorbs moisture, causing nitrogen volatilization loss; ammonium nitrate has very strong hygroscopicity and readily cakes and deliquesces; calcium cyanamide and superphosphate readily cake after absorbing moisture, affecting application results. Therefore, these chemical fertilizers should be stored in a dry, cool place, and especially ammonium bicarbonate should be sealed firmly in its packaging during storage to avoid contact with air.

2. Prevent fire and avoid sunlight: after nitrogen fertilizers are exposed to sunlight or encounter high humidity, nitrogen volatilization loss will accelerate; ammonium nitrate will decompose oxygen at high temperatures and will burn when it meets flammable materials, and any that has already caked must never be struck hard with an iron hammer, to prevent explosion. During storage, nitrogen fertilizers should avoid sunlight, and open flames and smoke are strictly prohibited; they should not be stacked together with items such as diesel, kerosene, and firewood or straw.

3. Prevent volatilization loss: ammonia water and ammonium bicarbonate very readily suffer volatilization loss, so they must be sealed during storage. Nitrogen fertilizers and superphosphate must strictly not be stacked together with alkaline substances (lime, plant ash, etc.), to prevent volatilization loss of nitrogen fertilizers and reduce the fertilizer efficiency of phosphate fertilizer.

4. Prevent corrosion and toxicity: superphosphate is corrosive, so prevent contact with skin and metal tools; ammonia water is strongly corrosive to copper and iron, so it should be stored in ceramic, plastic, or wooden containers. In addition, chemical fertilizers must not be stacked together with seeds, and fertilizer bags must not be used to hold seeds, so as to avoid affecting seed germination.