NAREI Gardening tips…Fertilizing fruits and vegetables

Mar 25, 2019 News

Fruit and vegetable plants need good nutrition to grow and produce an abundant harvest, just like flowers, and other plants. In this week’s column, the National Agriculture Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) will explain the kinds of fertilizers and then move onto if, when, and how much to fertilize your trees. Some soils are naturally low in nutrients while others become depleted due to continuous cropping. Farmers are generally aware when this condition arises. They usually refer to their soils in this state as being “run down.” Farmers invariably use fertilizers and manures to correct this problem. The use of fertilizers has become an essential and routine part of many crop production systems. Farmers do not use fertilizers just to grow big crops or to increase the nutrient content of their soils. They do so to make a living. As a result, any fertilizer practice must be technically correct to ensure it gives a fair economic return to the farmers.
Kinds of fertilizers
Plants need adequate supplies of nutrients for good growth and high yields. When the soil itself cannot supply the quantities of nutrients needed by the plant, best yields would not be obtained unless the shortage of plant nutrients is made up by applying the missing substance as fertilizers. A fertilizer is a material, the main function of which is to provide plant nutrients. Fertilizers are classified into two categories—inorganic and organic. The inorganic (mineral) fertilizer is a substance in which the declared nutrients are in the form of inorganic salts obtained by extraction and/or by physical and/or chemical industrial processes. Inorganic fertilizers include Urea, TSP, Muriate of Potash and compound fertilizers just as 15:15:15. An organic fertilizer on the other hand is a plant fertilizer that is derived from organic sources. Organic fertilizers can range from organic compost to cow manure, but they must be derived from all-organic sources. Chicken droppings from an organic farm would be considered an organic fertilizer. Additional examples of organic fertilizer sources include molasses and fish emulsions. Organic fertilizers differ from chemical fertilizers in that they feed your plants while building a healthy soil. They are considered the more environmentally friendly option. Soils with plenty of organic material remain loose and light, retain more moisture and nutrients, and foster growth of soil micro-organisms that promote healthier plants and root development.
(Return next week for information on the methods of fertilizer application).

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