Fertilisers

Question 1

What is liquid fertilisers?

Answer 1

Diluted in water and applied to the root zone

Question 2

What is foliar feed?

Answer 2

Liquid fertiliser sprayed on the plant and taken up by leaves (usually for the application of trace elements)

Question 3

What is soluble fertilisers?

Answer 3

Dissolve as soon as they come into contact with water and therefore are quick acting

Question 4

What are powder fertilisers?

Answer 4

May also be soluble

Question 5

What are granules ?

Answer 5

May take time to break down and dissolve

Question 6

What are pills?

Answer 6

Round balls to roll for distribution

Question 7

What are biologically active fertilisers?

Answer 7

Broken down by microorganisms and so availability depends on their activity, can be slower to release

Question 8

What are slow release fertilisers?

Answer 8

Slowly released because the fertiliser is insoluble or only slightly soluble and therefore released over many months such as rock phosphate

Question 9

What are fritted fertilisers?

Answer 9

Made from fine glass powder containing nutrient elements that release slowly, usually for trace elements to overcome risk of toxicity

Question 10

What are controlled release fertilisers?

Answer 10

Have a coating, usually of resin, that releases nutrients at a rate to match the plants uptake controlled by water and temperature

Question 11

What are sequestered fertilisers?

Answer 11

Formulated to allow availability when pH conditions would result in the nutrient being locked up and insoluble

Question 12

What are iron exchange resins?

Answer 12

Releases nutrients by exchange with cations in the water

Question 13

What is base dressing?

Answer 13

Incorporated into the growing media or placed in the planting hole, combined with sowing seeds so both in the same drill, broadcast on surface and Incorporated in final stages of soil cultivation

Question 14

What are top dressing fertilisers?

Answer 14

Fertilisers added to the surface but not incorporated

Question 15

What does excess fertilisers do to the plant?

Answer 15

Excess nutrient symptoms, loss of water from the plant due to exosmosis and fertiliser leaching causing eutrophication

Question 16

Examples of natural and organic fertilisers

Answer 16

Manures and compost

Question 17

What are natural/organic fertilisers?

Answer 17

Release nutrients slowly into soil, depend on the aeration of soil bacteria, nutrient content is low