Characteristics of Controlled-Release Fertilizer and How It Differs from Slow-Release Fertilizer
Controlled-release fertilizer is an advanced form of slow-release fertilizer. It mainly uses coating technology to control the release of nutrients, achieving the goals of safety, long-lasting effect and high efficiency. It is a major direction in the development of modern fertilizers and is suitable for mechanized production, especially for meeting the need for simultaneous seeding and fertilizing. So what are the characteristics of controlled-release fertilizer? And what are the differences from slow-release fertilizer?
1. What are the characteristics of controlled-release fertilizer?
1. High fertilizer efficiency utilization rate
The nutrients in conventional fertilizers are lost through evaporation into the air, seepage into the ground and washing away by surface water. Less than 30% is actually used by crops. Nonglifeng polypeptide coated controlled-release fertilizer, however, avoids the above losses through the control of the outer coating material, so that the fertilizer efficiency utilization rate reaches more than 80%.
2. Saves time and labor and frees up the workforce
With Nonglifeng polypeptide controlled-release fertilizer, most crops can be fertilized only once per season, with no need for further fertilization thereafter, saving time and labor and reducing waste.
3. Obvious yield-increasing effect
By controlling nutrient release through the coating, the nutrient supply to crops is kept stable and regular, avoiding nutrient deficiency and excessive vegetative growth in crops. The yield increase is mostly more than 200 jin per mu.
4. Long-term use improves the soil
After the nutrients are released, the empty shells can store water and preserve soil moisture, and also provide aeration and retain fertilizer, making long-term compacted soil loose.
5. Obvious sterilizing and insect-repelling effect
The coating material of Nonglifeng polypeptide controlled-release fertilizer uses polysulfide compounds, which can sterilize and repel insects. Each bag of fertilizer comes with more than ten jin of extra fungicide.
6. Supplements sulfur for crops
Sulfur is also an indispensable secondary element for crop growth. After the empty shells of Nonglifeng polypeptide controlled-release fertilizer are broken down, they can directly take part in nutrient release and be absorbed by crops.
2. What are the differences between controlled-release fertilizer and slow-release fertilizer?
Both slow-release fertilizer and controlled-release fertilizer are fertilizers with a longer fertilizer effect than quick-acting fertilizers. In this sense, there is no strict difference between slow-release fertilizer and controlled-release fertilizer. But from the perspective of the mechanism and effect of controlling the nutrient release rate, slow-release fertilizer and controlled-release fertilizer are different.
When slow-release fertilizer is released, it is affected by many external factors such as soil pH, microbial activity, soil moisture content, soil type and irrigation water volume. The fertilizer release is uneven, and the nutrient release rate is not necessarily fully synchronized with the nutritional needs of the crops; at the same time, most are single-nutrient fertilizers, mainly nitrogen fertilizers.
Controlled-release fertilizer, by contrast, is mostly an N-P-K compound fertilizer or a full-nutrient fertilizer with added trace elements. After being applied to the soil, its release rate is affected only by soil temperature. But soil temperature also has a great influence on plant growth rate. Within a relatively large temperature range, as soil temperature rises, the release rate of controlled-release fertilizer speeds up, and at the same time the plant growth rate speeds up, so the demand for fertilizer also increases.
Therefore, the rate at which controlled-release fertilizer releases nutrients is relatively consistent with the rate at which plants need nutrients, so it can meet the nutrient needs of crops at different growth stages.