How to Tell Good Compound Fertilizer from Bad? A Few Practical Methods
There are mainly the following methods for telling good compound fertilizer from bad:
1. Look. First check whether double-layer packaging is used, then check whether the bag is marked with information such as the trademark and production license number, and finally check whether a product certificate is placed inside the inner bag. If double-layer packaging is not used or the labeling is incomplete, it is very likely a fake or inferior product. When farmers open the inner bag, they should also carefully check whether the granules of the compound fertilizer are uniform; if they are not uniform, it is also very likely a fake or inferior product.
2. Touch. Grab half a handful of compound fertilizer and rub it; if a layer of grayish-white powder remains on your hand with a sticky feeling, and tiny white crystals can be seen among the granules, it indicates a high-quality product; if a layer of grayish-black powder remains on your hand with no sticky feeling, and there are no white crystals among the granules, it indicates an inferior product.
3. Smell. Compound fertilizer generally has no unusual odor. If there is an unusual odor, and it is strong, it can be judged as inferior compound fertilizer. After use, such compound fertilizer may at best cause seedling burn, and at worst make crops fail completely; moreover, the toxicity remains for a long time and will affect the growth of the next crop.
4. Dissolve in water. High-quality compound fertilizer has good water solubility and most of it can dissolve when soaked in water; even if there is a small amount of sediment, the sediment is relatively fine. Inferior compound fertilizer, by contrast, is relatively difficult to dissolve in water, and its residue is rough and hard.
5. Burn. Place a small amount of compound fertilizer on a piece of iron sheet and burn it in an open flame. If an ammonia odor appears, it indicates it contains nitrogen; if a yellow flame appears, it indicates it contains potassium. The stronger the ammonia odor and the yellower the yellow flame, the higher the nitrogen and potassium content, which means it is high-quality compound fertilizer; otherwise, it is inferior compound fertilizer. Zhao Xia