How to tell real water-soluble fertilizer from fake? A few practical methods
Compared with traditional superphosphate, granulated compound fertilizer and other types, water-soluble fertilizer has obvious advantages. It is a quick-acting fertilizer with good water solubility and no residue; it can dissolve completely in water and be absorbed and used directly by crop roots and leaves. However, water-soluble fertilizers on the market come in all kinds, and it is impossible to tell the real from the fake, so how do you tell real water-soluble fertilizer from fake?
Check the nutrient content of each element on the packaging bag
According to the standard for macro-element water-soluble fertilizers, the content of any single nutrient among the three elements nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium must not be lower than 4%, and the sum of the three must not be lower than 50%. If on the packaging bag you see any one of the macro elements marked at less than 4%, or the total of the three elements nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium at less than 50%, it shows that this kind of product is substandard.
Macro-element + trace-element type
Trace element content refers to the sum of the contents of copper, iron, manganese, zinc, boron and molybdenum. The product should contain at least one trace element. The total trace element content must not be lower than 0.2%; any single trace element with a content of not less than 0.05% should be counted into the trace element content, and the molybdenum content must not be higher than 0.5%.
Macro-element + secondary-element type
Secondary element content refers to the sum of the contents of calcium and magnesium. The product should contain at least one secondary element, the total secondary element content must not be lower than 1.0%, and any single secondary element with a content of not less than 0.1% should be counted into the secondary element content. Check how the various specific nutrients are labelled on the packaging bag
High-quality macro-element water-soluble fertilizers label the guaranteed ingredients (including macro elements, secondary elements and trace elements) very clearly, and each is labelled individually; this way the nutrient content is clear and people can use it with confidence. Non-standard manufacturers generally use wording such as the total nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium content ≥ a certain percentage. If it is labelled this way, it shows the product is not standard.
Check the product formulas and registered crops
Macro-element water-soluble fertilizer is a formula fertilizer. High-quality water-soluble fertilizers generally have several formulas, and a suitable formula can be found from the seedling stage to the harvest stage. If the packaging clearly states that it is a special fertilizer for a certain crop, with 1-2 formulas covering everything, this approach is not very reliable. The crops registered for a standard fertilizer are one or several crops; for crops that are not registered, there needs to be a description of local use experience.
Check whether there is a product execution standard
It should be explained here that what we usually call fully water-soluble fertilizer for flushing and drip irrigation actually has the generic product name of macro-element water-soluble fertilizer, and the generic execution standard is NY1107—2010. If what appears on the packaging is not this standard, it shows it is not a macro-element water-soluble fertilizer.
The standard marked on the packaging of quite a few macro-element water-soluble fertilizers starts with GB, which shows that this kind of product is substandard. In addition, you should also check whether it has a fertilizer registration certificate number. If vegetable growers have doubts about a product, they can look up its fertilizer registration certificate number online. For a qualified macro-element water-soluble fertilizer, both the fertilizer registration certificate number and the manufacturer can be found; if they cannot be found, it shows that the product is substandard.
Check for an inspection report or certificate of conformity. Generally, fully water-soluble fertilizers produced by standard manufacturers should have an inspection report or certificate of conformity placed inside the packaging box, clearly informing consumers of the product quality test results for this batch of fertilizer.
Check whether heavy metal content, etc. is marked
In macro-element water-soluble fertilizers produced by standard manufacturers, the heavy metal content and water-insoluble matter are both below the national standard, and are clearly marked. If the fertilizer packaging bag does not mark the heavy metal content and water-insoluble matter, use it with caution.
Dissolve a little fertilizer in an appropriate amount of clean water
High-quality macro-element water-soluble fertilizer can dissolve quickly in water, and the solution is clear with no residue or sediment. If the fertilizer cannot dissolve completely in water and there is residue, it shows that the fertilizer quality is not very good.
Look at the fertilizer granules
Good-quality water-soluble fertilizer products have uniform granules in a crystalline form (granule size roughly the same as table salt granules). If the water-soluble fertilizer granules vary in size, and the large granules are similar in size to compound fertilizer or urea granules, it is best not to buy it.
How to identify real imported water-soluble fertilizer from fake
1. Smell, no need to say more, everyone knows it;
2. Appearance, it must be dyed (red, blue, green), because foreign fertilizers are designed for large farms; if it were colorless, the farm owner would not know it had been added, and might add it once more, causing the concentration to be too high;
3. There are black dots, green dots, etc.; those are trace elements, and they are also distributed fairly evenly (domestic products generally cannot do this). It is mainly an equipment problem (horizontal and barrel-shaped mixers have about 10% dead corners, causing uneven mixing. Foreign products all use double-helix conical mixers, and require 30 minutes of mixing);
4. Low moisture content. It is an open secret that, to reduce costs, domestic products use powdered urea (some directly crush granular urea). This absorbs moisture and is the lowest grade. When urea reaches 30%, you can feel it is very sticky when pinched by hand, and after patting it off it will still dye your hand; imported products will not dye your hand;
5. Use effect. If used continuously, you will find that good imported water-soluble fertilizer allows harvesting for a longer period, just as people live longer when living conditions are good. Water-soluble fertilizer with added hormones will cause premature aging and more disease, just like a person who takes drugs.
6. Prices change. In fact, many times the price is indeed very high, but just like imported pesticides, most of it is spent on research and development. For water-soluble fertilizer it is spent on trials. For example, one imported water-soluble fertilizer I once dealt with rented 30 mu of land at a test base around Wuhan alone, and spent a year proving that the product was suitable for local crops. In the first 2 years it sold relatively expensively, and from the third year the price was no longer expensive, because the cost had been recovered, and they believed the product was already an old product and should not be too expensive.
So imported products are expensive at first, and after three years they should not be expensive. From what I have dealt with, at first the retail price was 15 per jin, later 12 per jin, and when a new variety was about to be released, some areas even ran promotions as low as 10 yuan per jin.
7. The product has special features, either phosphorus and calcium combined, or a certain slow-release effect, or added promoting ingredients, etc., while domestic products hype high content (what use is high content if it cannot be absorbed), good hormones (however good a drug is, it is still a drug; some lipid is just a bit more expensive than compound sodium nitrophenolate and its effect is a bit more hidden), soil improvement, etc. (even more mysterious; it can even release fixed substances in the soil - do you dare to turn some precipitate into ionic form?)
What imported water-soluble fertilizer and domestic water-soluble fertilizer have in common:
1. The nutrients and contents of imported water-soluble fertilizer and domestic water-soluble fertilizer are basically the same. Both are quick-acting, water-soluble fertilizers that improve crops' resistance to disease, cold, drought and lodging, and extend the fresh-keeping period and storage period of crops.
2. After use, melons and fruits are evenly and brightly colored and uniform in size, and it can promote early ripening of crops and earlier marketing.
3. The methods of use are all dilution and direct spraying on the leaves, flushing, drip irrigation, etc.
Differences between imported water-soluble fertilizer and domestic water-soluble fertilizer:
1. The price is different. Imported ones are more expensive than domestic ones, because imported water-soluble fertilizer requires more additional costs, such as tariffs, so the selling price is higher. Domestic water-soluble fertilizer has no tariffs or various costs arising from compound intermediate links, so compared with imported water-soluble fertilizer of the same content it is somewhat cheaper.
2. In the market, when China's water-soluble fertilizer had not yet developed, imported water-soluble fertilizer did occupy China's high-end water-soluble fertilizer market, but with the continuous development of China's water-soluble fertilizer technology, quite good results and breakthroughs have been achieved in recent years, and gradually imported water-soluble fertilizer will also gradually be driven out of the market in China.