Organic fertilizer

Fertilizers are essential substances in agricultural production, providing plants with the nutrients they need to grow. There are many different types of fertilizers, each with its own unique characteristics and suitable applications. Today, we’d like to share the main characteristics of organic fertilizers.
Organic fertilizers, also known as farmyard manure, are the foundation of traditional agriculture in China. They are primarily derived from animal and plant residues or excreta, such as livestock and poultry manure, crop straw, fish meal, and bone meal.
With technological advancements, what we now refer to as organic fertilizer has long transcended the concept of farmyard manure; it is now produced on an industrial scale and has become a commercial fertilizer.
Organic fertilizer contains large amounts of biological matter, animal and plant residues, excreta, and biological waste. It is rich in various nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, as well as organic acids, peptides, and other essential nutrients.
It provides comprehensive nutrients with long-lasting fertility, increases soil organic matter, promotes microbial growth, and improves the soil’s physicochemical properties and biological activity. As a primary nutrient source for green food production, it acts slowly and is typically used as a base fertilizer.
However, it also has some drawbacks, such as its bulky volume and low nutrient concentration. It must undergo microbial decomposition and conversion (composting) before it can be absorbed by plants; otherwise, problems such as seedling burn may occur.
At the same time, due to their complex composition, some may contain harmful substances such as pathogens, parasite eggs, heavy metals, and antibiotics; furthermore, different types of organic fertilizers have varying carbon-to-nitrogen ratios, resulting in significant differences in their decomposition rates and nutrient release.