The Importance Of Nitrogen

Nowadays, overuse of fertilizers to boost the crop yields in agriculture is a major issue around the world. More farmers are depending on nitrogen to fertilize their crops, however, growing global use of nitrogen is damaging the earth and threatening human health (Gutierrez). Many big fertilizer companies are advertising that synthetic chemical Nitrogen fertilizers supply necessary nutrients into the soil, so plants can grow healthy, live stronger and flourish (Gutierrez). However, due to the volatility of nitrogen, it does not stay where farmers put it, it easily reacts with the elements around it and spreads into air, water and soil (Gutierrez). Researchers estimated that about 70 percent of exerted nitrogen is resulted in being outside of

It also appears in numerous of other reactive compounds such as in ammonia, 〖NH〗_3, and it is a fundamental component of life to all organisms on Earth (wisegeek.org). Nitrogen is one of the most essential nutrients for plant growth and it is the most suitable nutrient that producer can control. Despite the fact that nitrogen is most abundant elements on earth, nitrogen deficiency is presumably the most common nutritional problem affecting plants since it is easily lost from the soil system. In addition to the fact that atmospheric nitrogen (N_2) is not accessible by most plants and they need nitrogen fixating microbes or nitrogen fixation from lightening strikes that change N_2 into nitrites and then other microbes that change it into nitrates. It is mostly in the nitrate form that is available plants to use. Nitrogen is significant to plant because it is part of the major component of chlorophyll therefore vitally important for photosynthesis which plants use energy from sunlight to produce energy like sugars from carbon dioxide and water. It is also major element of all amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. Plants will wilt and die without proteins as well as all living things. Proteins either act as structural units in plants cells or act as enzymes, speeding up many of the biochemical reactions. Nitrogen is also a constituent of energy transfer compounds, like adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Cell uses ATP as energy and to store energy released in metabolism. Lastly, it is a component of nucleic acids such as genetic material, DNA that allow cells to grow and reproduce