Organic Fertilizer Essay

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background Information

Soil is an important aspect of the environment that support all living organisms’ plants inclusive, without soil it is difficult to talk about soil nutrients and fertilization application. Most soils in the tropical forests are deficient in nitrogen and phosphorus nutrients and the uptake of these limited quantities of nutrients by plant roots from litter is very difficult (Lawrence, 1998; Jose, 2003). Soil must be managed properly to be able to retain the necessary soil nutrients which can be absorbed by plants for its growth processes and water intake. Therefore, inadequate management of nursery soil can result in reduction of site fertility and seedling growth (Ang et al., 1995; Hoque et al., 2004).

Organic fertilizer is regarded as slow release fertilizer because it provide nutrients in small amounts over an extended period of time, exactly the way plants requires them (Adeyemo and Agele, 2010). Organic fertilizers are more stable in nursery soil and are less likely to add to water or river pollution. The application of organic fertilizers such as compost, green manure and animal wastes promotes the regulation of nutrient regime in organic farming (Brady and Weil,

Complete and balanced fertilizers: These types of inorganic fertilizers contains basic nutrients, such as nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K), as well as secondary nutrients and micro-nutrients such as boron, calcium, manganese and magnesium. The percentage of NPK contained in both complete and a balance fertilizer is described by three numbers on the package. For instance, a 10-15-10 formula is a complete fertilizer, containing 10 percent nitrogen, 15 percent phosphorus and 10 percent potassium. Balanced fertilizers are those that contain equal amount of nutrients, such as a 15-15-15 (N-P-K) formula (Adeleye et al.,