Fertiliser Essay

Due to an increasing global population, food demands have risen. Continual crop growth leaves soil lacking in nutrients, resulting in poor harvest. Solid and liquid fertilisers are ways to restore these vital nutrients; however both have different purposes and effects. To determine which fertiliser is more beneficial, an experimental investigation has been set up to test the effects of solid and liquid fertiliser on the growth of a tomato plant.

Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium are the three most important nutrients required for a plant’s survival. Nitrogen, an element found in all cells, is a major part of all amino acids (Bozeman, 2004) and is essential for plant growth and fruit production (CS, Unknown). In a process called Nitrogen fixation, dinitrogen (N2) is converted into ammonia (NH3) by nodules formed by a symbiotic relationship between legumes and soil bacteria called Rhizobia. The ammonia is transported into plant tissues where it is transformed into amino acids that are used in various plant processes (Boundless.com, Unknown).

Phosphorus is an essential element for photosynthesis, the process in which plants create food (CS, Unknown). Energy from the sun, absorbed by chlorophyll pigments, excites electrons in chlorophyll molecules which are transported to an electron acceptor. The energy is used to create Adenosine Triphosphate and split water molecules, absorbed through the roots, into hydrogen and oxygen ions. The hydrogen ions (H+) are stored in the thylakoid membrane, and the oxygen (O2) is diffused as waste. Hydrogen ions and electrons are taken up through the NADP (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate) where NADPH2 is formed. The ADP and NADPH2 reduce CO2 from the air into carbon molecules. These compo...

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...id fertiliser’s slow release of nutrients and slow effects, plants may not receive nutrients fast enough to prevent disease or deficiencies. Therefore it is hypothesised that due to its quick and sometimes instantaneous effects, liquid fertiliser will promote better plant growth’. Future experiments to test this could be testing how different levels of nutrients in fertilisers affect plant growth, testing whether organic or chemical fertilisers promote better plant growth, or testing different plant’s responses to the same type of fertiliser.

The results of this experiment have shown that plants respond better to liquid fertiliser due to its quick effects. However it has also shown that the effects are temporary and that solid fertiliser, although slow to react is better over longer periods of time. It is due to this that a clear comparison is unable to be made.