How to tell real water-soluble fertilizer from fake? A few quick tricks to identify it
Water-soluble fertilizer, as a new type of fertilizer developed in tandem with water-saving irrigation agriculture, three-dimensional high-efficiency cultivation, and high-yield, high-quality cultivation techniques, has the characteristics of improving fertilizer utilization, saving energy and protecting the environment, saving water, saving fertilizer, saving labor, and increasing yield, and is one of the important directions for the future development of fertilizers. Recently, an industry expert interviewed by reporters said that water-soluble fertilizer products on the market are currently a mixed bag, and many manufacturers are scrambling to occupy the new fertilizer market. Liquid water-soluble fertilizer is one of them. So how should the vast number of growers and dealers in the agricultural materials market correctly choose high-quality liquid fertilizer? What practical and simple methods are there? The expert teaches you five points for identifying liquid water-soluble fertilizer.
First, look with the naked eye. Liquid water-soluble fertilizer is clear and transparent with no impurities. When purchasing, you can turn the bottle upside down to observe whether there is suspended flocculent sediment or other insoluble matter. This product should be purchased with caution.
Second, weigh it. According to industry standards, every product has a minimum nutrient content requirement. In liquid water-soluble fertilizers, each nutrient element is measured in g/L, meaning the mass of the nutrient element contained per unit volume. The larger the value, the heavier the same volume of liquid product and the greater its specific gravity. The specific gravity of qualified amino acid, humic acid, and organic water-soluble liquid fertilizers is generally above 1.25 (that is, the weight of 1L is above 1.25kg), and the specific gravity of macro-element, secondary-element, and trace-element liquid fertilizers is mostly above 1.35 (that is, the weight of 1L is above 1.35kg).
Third, identify by smell. High-quality liquid water-soluble fertilizer has no obvious odor. For example, German Xinlu water-soluble fertilizer has no obvious odor after opening, and some have only a slight ammonia smell; its odor is similar to ammonia in a long-uncleaned dry toilet, and there are no pungent odors such as unskinned "halibut" that irritate the eyes. If there are other pungent odors, then other ingredients have been added.
Fourth, freeze test. If liquid water-soluble fertilizer is frozen in the refrigerator for a day and a night without layering or crystallization, it is a high-quality fertilizer. Those products that layer and crystallize are caused by failure to select good raw materials and control the production process well, and their quality does not pass.
Fifth, test strip detection. Use pH test strips to test its acidity and alkalinity. High-content liquid water-soluble fertilizer has a pH value close to neutral or weakly acidic or weakly alkaline, while some small factories with relatively low technology will produce strong acidity or strong alkalinity.