Any gardener who has designed a fertilization program for homegrown plants probably knows the wide range of materials available for gardeners to use as fertilizers. Each fertilizer has specific advantages and disadvantages, so sometimes it can be very confusing to choose a fertilizer suitable for the needs of your plants. Phosphate fertilizers, for example, entail specific benefits and risks. Understanding these risks is the key to avoiding problems related to inappropriate use of phosphate fertilizers.
One of the main ways in which fertilizers differ from each other is in the materials they use to provide nutrients to the soil. A phosphate or phosphorus fertilizer is one that provides higher concentrations of phosphorus than other plant nutrients such as nitrogen and potassium. Some common organic sources of phosphorus used in fertilizers include superphosphate, concentrated superphosphate, monoammonium phosphate, diamonium phosphate (DAP), ammonium polyphosphate (APP) and rock phosphate.
Disadvantages of Phosphate Fertilizers
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Hyperfertilization is a serious and common problem for phosphate fertilizers. Many gardeners mistakenly add phosphate fertilizers to soils that they deem phosphorus deficient when nitrogen deficiencies are a much more common cause of plant nutrient deficiency symptoms. In these cases, too much phosphorus in the soil not only does not solve the problem of nutrient deficiency, but can make things worse by causing leaf chlorosis and damaging the beneficial microorganisms that live in the soil.
Another major disadvantage of phosphate fertilizers is the high probability of water contamination. Phosphorus that penetrates the soil through phosphate fertilizers and adheres firmly to soil particles is unlikely to leave the soil. But if too much phosphate fertilizer is applied to the soil, excess phosphorus can easily reach the water systems through drains and pipes. Grass residues and leaves of plants that have been grown in soils with excess phosphorus will release their phosphorus into the water, leading to algae and bacteria bursts and water contamination problems.
Summarizing his research on the problems associated with phosphate fertilizers, Linda Chalker-Scott of Washington State University notes that “the excessive use of phosphorus in landscapes is a practice that wastes resources and damages the ecosystem”. The key word in your statement is “excessive”. It is important to understand the problems that can sometimes arise from the use of phosphate fertilizers, but the correct use of phosphate fertilizers can be a safe and beneficial way to improve soil fertility. Apply phosphate fertilizers only when necessary, as indicated by soil fertility tests and always follow exactly the application instructions labeled by the manufacturer.
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