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Chemical Fertilizer vs. Organic Fertilizer

Diffen › Science › Biology

A chemical fertilizer is defined as any inorganic material of wholly or partially

synthetic origin that is added to soil to sustain plant growth. Organic
fertilizersare substances that are derived from the remains or byproducts of
natural organisms which contain the essential nutrients for plant growth.
Comparison chart
Chemical Fertilizer versus Organic Fertilizer comparison chart

Chemical Fertilizer Organic Fertilizer

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urrent rating is 3.41/5 urrent rating is 4.17/5
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(755 ratings) (786 ratings)

NP 20 to 60% About 14%

K
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Ex Ammonium sulfate, ammonium phosphate, Cottonseed meal, blood meal, fish emulsion, and
am ammonium nitrate, urea, ammonium chloride and manure and sewage sludge, etc.
ple the like.

Chemical fertilizers are rich equally in three essential Adds natural nutrients to soil, increases soil organic
Ad
nutrients that are needed for crops and always ready matter, improves soil structure and tilth, improves
va
for immediate supply of nutrients to plants if water holding capacity, reduces soil crusting
nta
situation demands. problems, reduces erosion from wind and water,
ges
Slow and consistent release of nutrients.

Dis Several chemical fertilizers have high acid content. Have slow release capability; distribution of nutrients
ad They have the ability to burn the skin. Changes soil in organic fertilizers is not equal.
 Chemical Fertilizer versus Organic Fertilizer comparison chart

Chemical Fertilizer Organic Fertilizer

va fertility.
nta
ges

Comparison chart continues below.

Rat Immediate supply or slow release Slow release

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Ab Chemical fertilizers are manufactured from synthetic Organic fertilizers are made from materials derived
ou material from living things.
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Pre Artificially prepared. Prepared naturally. One can prepare organic

par fertilizers, themselves or can also buy.
ati
on

Nu Have equal distribution of three essential nutrients: Have unequal distribution of essential nutrients.
tri phosphorous, nitrogen, potassium.
ent
s

Chemical fertilizers turn out to be cheaper because Organic fertilizer may be cheaper per pound but
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they pack more nutrients per pound of weight. works out to be more expensive over all because
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more of it is needed for the same level of nutrients.

Detailed comparison continued below.

Contents: Chemical Fertilizer vs Organic Fertilizer

 1 About

 2 Distribution of nutrients

 3 Cost

 4 Supply of nutrients
 5 Acid content

 6 NPK ratio

 7 History

 8 Use

 9 References

About
A chemical fertilizer is defined as any inorganic material of wholly or
partially synthetic origin that is added to the soil to sustain plant growth.
Chemical fertilizers are produced synthetically from inorganic materials. Since
they are prepared from inorganic materials artificially, they may have some
harmful acids, which stunt the growth of microorganisms found in the soil
helpful for plant growth naturally. They’re rich in the three essential nutrients
needed for plant growth. Some examples of chemical fertilizers
are ammonium sulphate, ammonium phosphate, ammonium
nitrate, urea, ammonium chloride and the like.
Organic fertilizers are substances that are derived from the remains or by
products of organisms. Organic fertilizers depend upon the microorganisms
found in soil to break them down and release the essential nutrients. Organic
nutrients are rich in phosphorous, nitrogen, and potassium, but in unequal
proportions. Examples of organic fertilizers are cottonseed meal, blood
meal, fish emulsion, and manure and sewage sludge. There are two types of
organic fertilizers: first is the synthetic type which is organic compound
produced artificially (e.g., Urea, a common organic fertilizer; the other type is
natural organic fertilizers because 100% of the ingredients used to create a
typical natural organic fertilizer come from nature (e.g., fish extract, seaweed
and manure, guano, and compost materials).
Distribution of nutrients
Fertilizers are used to provide nutrients to the plants for their good growth.
Soil nutrients’ deficiency is the prevalent problem among home-garden
owners. One of the distinct advantages of chemical fertilizers over organic
fertilizers is that chemical fertilizers are rich equally in all three essential
nutrients: nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium. On the other hand, organic
fertilizers may be rich in one of the three nutrients, or may have low levels of
all the three nutrients.
 Cost
Organic fertilizers are generally much more expensive than chemical
fertilizers, mostly because chemical fertilizers have more concentrated levels
of nutrients per weight of product than organic fertilizers do. One needs
several pounds of organic fertilizer to provide the same soil nutrient levels that
a single pound of chemical fertilizer provides, and the higher cost of organic
fertilizer is one of the biggest reasons that organic produce is more expensive
than non-organic. (The other big reason being lower organic yields, on
average.) Although it is possible to make a lot of one's own organic fertilizer
as well, once the labor, time, and other resources are accounted for,
homemade organic fertilizer is usually more expensive than store-bought
chemical fertilizer too.
Supply of nutrients
One aspect of the organic fertilizers is their slow-release capability. Slow-
release capability of organic fertilizers has both advantages and
disadvantages: Slow-release means there is less risk of over-fertilization but
sometimes this slow-release of organic fertilizers is not able to fulfill to needed
supply of the nutrients, whenever required. In contrast to organic fertilizer,
chemical fertilizers are always there to provide immediate supply of nutrients
to plants if situation demands.
Acid content
One of the main disadvantages of chemical fertilizers is that, in contrast to
organic fertilizers, several chemical fertilizers have high acid content
like sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid. This high acid content results in the
destruction of the nitrogen-fixing bacteria, which is helpful in supplying the
nitrogen to a growing plant. In contrast, organic fertilizers support the growth
of nitrogen-fixing bacteria..
NPK ratio
Chemical fertilizers always have a high total NPK
(nitrogen:phosphorous:potassium), from 20 to 60 percent or more. The total
NPK for organic fertilizer blends will always be low. Fourteen percent is about
as high as it gets.
History
Natural fertilizers like manure have been in use for centuries as these were
the only form of nutrition that could be provided to crops before the invention
 of chemical fertilizers. Chemicals were added to natural fertilizers after the
second world war. Post the war, with advancement of technology there was
an explosive growth in artificial fertilizers due to improved productivity. But of
late, there has been mass awareness of the eco friendliness of the use of
organic fertilizers and many are using those methods again.
Use
There are two ways to measure fertilizer use in a country. One is by nutrient
content — how much nitrogen, phosphate and potash are contained in the
fertilizer applied. In fiscal year 2004, 23.4 million tons of nutrients were applied
in the US. Another way to measure is in total tonnage — the total tons it takes
to deliver the nutrient content. In fiscal year 2004, 57.8 million total tons were
used in the United States. The world's largest producers and users of
fertilizers are the United States, China, India, Russia and Brazil.
Some reports suggest the US Fertilizer market to be around $40 Billion of
which organic fertilizers occupy only about $60 Miliion. The rest of it is the
share of the various artificial fertilizers.
References
 Chemical Fertilizer or Organic Fertilizer -  EcoChem
 Wikipedia: Fertilizer#Organic fertilizers
 Fertilizer Statistics -  The Fertilizer Institute
 Organic fertilizer companies see growing market, but efficacy debated
-  MarketWatch

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Comments: Chemical Fertilizer vs Organic Fertilizer

Anonymous comments (3)
May 6, 2014, 3:18am
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