Buying fertilizer for autumn planting: remember the four looks and four don'ts

Entering autumn, as the summer-planted crops are harvested, people are about to face the arrival of autumn-planted wheat, which also means the time has come for farmer friends to buy fertilizer. Nowadays there is a wide variety of fertilizers on the agricultural materials market, with both good and bad coexisting, and some vendors loudly promote their own fertilizer, creating certain misunderstandings for farmer friends when choosing fertilizer. Here the editor reminds everyone that when choosing fertilizer you must achieve the "four looks and four don'ts."

The "four looks" are: First, look at the business qualification of the fertilizer seller, whether they have a business license for selling fertilizer and other legal procedures. As far as possible choose shops or enterprise manufacturers with legal procedures, a certain scale and a good reputation. Second, look at the product certificate of conformity and the fertilizer inspection sheet, and ask for purchase and sale receipts (to be used in case of fertilizer quality disputes). Third, look at the fertilizer label, distinguish the fertilizer category and nature, and understand the fertilizer's nutrient content, use, method of application and precautions. The national standard GB18382-2001 (Requirements for Fertilizer Label Content) stipulates that fertilizer must indicate the content of total nutrients (referring only to N+P2O5+K2O), and medium and trace elements or organic matter must not be added to the total nutrients. But when relevant departments carried out inspections, they found that some enterprises still added medium and trace elements or organic matter to the total nutrients to deceive consumers. Farmer brothers should pay attention to this situation. Also note that when compound fertilizer is labeled as containing chlorine or chloride ions, it should not be used or should be used with caution on chlorine-sensitive crops such as tobacco, and when used on seedlings it should be kept properly away from the roots to avoid burning the seedlings. Fertilizer labeled as containing nitrate nitrogen should be used with caution in paddy fields to avoid loss of nitrate nitrogen. Fourth, look at whether the fertilizer enterprise has handled the relevant procedures. For example, to use foliar fertilizer or microbial fertilizer, a fertilizer registration certificate from the Ministry of Agriculture must be handled; to use compound fertilizer, organic fertilizer and so on, a provincial-level fertilizer registration certificate must be handled, and to use compound fertilizer a production license must also be handled.

⟦NL> The "four don'ts" are: First, don't covet cheapness, disregard quality, and buy fake or inferior fertilizer, so as to avoid unnecessary losses. Many fertilizers have confusing labeling, and there are many counterfeit products, so be extra vigilant when buying. Second, don't look only at the "big" and not the "small." Some products, in order to show off their selling points, use large letters on the packaging to highlight famous brands, while to cope with inspections by supervisory departments they mark the substantive content in small letters. For example, they use large letters in a prominent position to mark "Russia," and use small letters to mark "uses" "raw materials" and so on, making people mistakenly think it is an imported product; others mark "potassium sulfate type" in a prominent position and mark "contains chlorine" in an inconspicuous place, in order to confuse and mislead. Third, don't be fooled by new concepts. Some products, under the guise of high technology, make a big fuss on the packaging, labeling it with high-tech names such as "biological," "activated" and "green," when in fact it is an ordinary product. Fourth, don't just accept that you are "unlucky." If fake fertilizer is discovered or phenomena such as fertilizer damage occur during use, you should promptly report and complain to the local agriculture department in charge, the technical supervision department, the industry and commerce department and the consumers association.