Using chemical fertilizers for veggies and other food supplies across the world has become the favorite one since the 1940s. People prefer to use chemical fertilizers because it tends to be more efficient, less costly, and turn the less fertile soil into the fertile one and ready to be planted.
Also, the higher population makes chemical fertilizers become the only choice to feed people effectively. That’s why it becomes a chemical fertilizer.
Then, if you talk about using chemicals, of course, the facts about disadvantage after using chemical fertilizers cannot be denied. So, to sum up the facts about chemical fertilizers, you can check it out here.
Table of Contents
- 1. Overused Chemical Fertilizers Causes Land Degradation
- 2. Plants Feel No Difference Between The Chemical Fertilizers And Organic Compost
- 3. Different Countries Use Different Amount Of Chemical Fertilizers
- 4. Fertilizers Harm The Microbes Present In The Soil
- 5. Most Chemical Fertilizers Are Made By The Reaction Of An Acid With An Alkali
- 6. There Is A Strict Regulation To Use Chemical Fertilizers For Individual Farmers
- 7. Using Chemical Fertilizers Gives An Impact Of Fresh Water
- 8. Norsk Hydro Is The World’s First Producer Of Nitrogen Fertilizer
- 9. People Tend To Use Chemical Fertilizers Due To The Cost Efficiency
- 10. Food Crops Using Inorganic Fertilizer Are Less Nutritious
- 11. Chemical Fertilizers Help Farmers Produce Better
- 12. Chemical Fertilizers Create A Dead Zone
- 13. The Synthetic Chemicals In Chemical Fertilizers Change Soil pH
- 14. Fatal Diseases Due To Using Chemical Fertilizers
- 15. China Is The Highest In Using Chemical Fertilizers
1. Overused Chemical Fertilizers Causes Land Degradation
We all know that using chemical fertilizers makes the veggies and plants grow faster. But, due to the result and the process is pretty easy, the overused chemical fertilizers become a serious issue. Because over forty percent of cultivated land in China has been degraded. And this case is due to the overuse of chemical fertilizers.
Overuse of chemical fertilizers and their low absorption rates are the two main problems. Therefore, when it is really easy to make the soil fertile, then the degradation land comes together as well.
2. Plants Feel No Difference Between The Chemical Fertilizers And Organic Compost
When you think that your plants can feel the difference between the nutrients they get organically or from chemical fertilizers, the answer is the crops feel no different at all. The nutrients that the plants received will feel the same for the crops. This is such a mind blowing fact since we assume that it will have a significant difference at least for the veggies. Yet, they just feel the same.
3. Different Countries Use Different Amount Of Chemical Fertilizers
Different countries, of course, use different amounts of fertilizers. It is because of the amount of land, the people who live in the country and the demand to export the food supplies across the world. For instance, Turkey uses less chemical fertilizer per hectare than many developing and developed countries.
While, the usage of chemical fertilizer use in India has increased from 2.65 million tons (mt) of NPK in 1971–1972 to 28.12 mt in 2010–2011. It is because in India, the population is much higher than in Turkey. That’s why India uses a higher amount of chemical fertilizers to meet the need for food supply.
4. Fertilizers Harm The Microbes Present In The Soil
By using chemical fertilizers, the microbes that usually appear in the soil will be harmed. Moreover, it helps nitrogen fixation and other important microbes that are useful for the veggies.
One important note is, we have to know the amount of chemical fertilizer used. So, the crops can absorb it based on the needs and the microbes will go away. Then you can harvest the best result when the harvest season comes!
5. Most Chemical Fertilizers Are Made By The Reaction Of An Acid With An Alkali
Ammonia is an alkali that is often found inside chemical fertilizers. Yet, ammonia can be oxidized as well and that turns into citric acid as the source of nitrate ion. Therefore, the ion from this reaction will be used for chemical fertilizers.
The farmers and gardeners need the mineral ions to grow healthy plants from poor soil conditions. When they find the soil is poor and has no hope to be planted, then farmers decide to use chemical fertilizers with this kind of ingredients.
6. There Is A Strict Regulation To Use Chemical Fertilizers For Individual Farmers
In addition to individual state regulations, the federal government also regulates fertilizer production, use and transport. Fertilizer producers are required to participate in the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Process Safety Management Regulation to protect worker safety.
In addition to OSHA, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Homeland Security and Department of Transportation all play roles in regulating fertilizers and their production.
7. Using Chemical Fertilizers Gives An Impact Of Fresh Water
If you are still confused about the relation of using chemical fertilizers for the vegetables and the impact of fresh water. It means you have to continue reading this. The eutrophication or hypertrophication of fresh water is one of the impacts of using chemical fertilizers. It means the fresh water is heavily enriched with minerals and nutrients due to runoff from land.
Researchers often find it has a number of downstream effects. Nitrate from chemical fertilizers becomes the main contributor to water pollution as well. And nitrate is what you can find as the ingredients of chemical fertilizers.
8. Norsk Hydro Is The World’s First Producer Of Nitrogen Fertilizer
If you wonder about the first producer of fertilizers, it was Norsk Hydro, as the world’s first producer of nitrogen fertilizer or inorganic fertilizer. The industry is from Norway. The founders are Sam Eyde and Kristian Birkeland.
Only eight years after establishing, the first cargo of Calcium Nitrate ‘Norgessalpeter’ was shipped to Nanjing port, China. And in 1919, the first research center was established in Skøyen, a part of Oslo, Norway.
9. People Tend To Use Chemical Fertilizers Due To The Cost Efficiency
We are pretty sure you tend to choose conventional food crops, rather than the organic one due to the price gap which makes you think twice to choose the organic one. But big-box grocers like Walmart and Kroger are making organic options more accessible with private-label goods.
“Any growth in private-label products, organic or conventional, has the potential to depress prices,” Organic Trade Association spokesperson Reana Kovalcik tells Axios.
Moreover, the inflation is hitting conventional foods harder, and due to that price increases of 2% to 4% for organic food and 11% for regular items over the last year. Organic food is no longer exclusive to the shelves of stores like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s. So, if you can buy the healthier but still affordable one, then, why do you still choose the less healthy one with the increased level price higher than the organic one?
10. Food Crops Using Inorganic Fertilizer Are Less Nutritious
Based on the research at University of California, the organic tomatoes contain 79% and 97% higher levels of antioxidants quercetin and kaempferol, respectively. While digging into the vitamin C level, there are differences as well between the organic and conventional one. The levels of Vitamin C were higher in organic oranges.
In another study performed in Italy investigating the effect of an organic Mediterranean diet and even organic red wine, results showed that the organic wine contained higher levels of resveratrol, polyphenols, and other antioxidants than conventional wine. It means, the nutrients between organic and conventional are pretty different and the difference is really visible and significant for our body.
11. Chemical Fertilizers Help Farmers Produce Better
Chemical fertilizers, of course, will help farmers to produce better yields from less land. Because the more the plant grows, the better it is. Using chemical fertilizers also increases the efficiency of using the land to plant the veggies or any food supplies. So, no more poor quality land if the farmers use chemical fertilizers. Yet, the amount of fertilizers is still under the threshold.
12. Chemical Fertilizers Create A Dead Zone
Talking about creating a dead zone, using chemical fertilizers for all aspects of farming will encourage the growth of plankton and other aquatic plants to excessive amounts. It can lead them to die and the process of decomposition eats up oxygen due to too many amounts of plankton that died.
Therefore, the fish and other aquatic animals that need oxygen will have less too and when the fish do not have enough oxygen, they will die as well. Therefore, it is called a dead zone, since the ecosystem of the area leads to chaos.
13. The Synthetic Chemicals In Chemical Fertilizers Change Soil pH
When it is effective to make the soil fertile faster, using chemical fertilizers in the long term affects the health of naturally found soil microorganisms. It changes the levels of acidity in the soil, and the effect is the microorganisms that are beneficial for plants and soil will be eliminated due to using chemical fertilizers.
The use of chemical fertilizers is harmful too for the health of bacteria that fix the nitrogen balance in the soil. If you wonder, these nitrogen-fixing bacteria are responsible for converting the atmospheric oxygen into a form of nitrogen that can be used readily by plants.
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14. Fatal Diseases Due To Using Chemical Fertilizers
The researchers already stated the facts that using chemical fertilizers will trigger the damage of the environment and human health. It is known that such damage is most often long-term, cumulative, and can be fatal.
For instance, the bad effects in using chemical fertilizers and getting exposed to this one will lead to undergoing serious treatment for kidney disease, cancer, skin-related illnesses, and many other ailments. The Government must extend the highest priority to the agriculture farming fraternity and offer them reasonable solutions until carbonic farming is properly placed.
15. China Is The Highest In Using Chemical Fertilizers
If you wonder which country consumes chemical fertilizers in the highest amount in the world, then the answer is China.China is the world’s largest consumer of fertilizers. In 2019, the Asian country consumed more than 45 million metric tons worth of nutrients.
It was followed by India and the United States, with 29.4 and 20.4 million tons, respectively. Actually, we don’t need to be shocked when knowing China consumes the highest amount of chemical fertilizers, but we have to wonder why Ukraine has less chemical fertilizers since the wheat from Ukraine is exported across the world bigger than any country.
