Fertiliser Type

This could refer to various interpretations for a fertiliser, for example, organic / inorganic; rate of nutrient release – slow, fast, controlled; straight, mixture or compound; as well as how it might be formulated, for example granular etc.

For this guide ‘Fertiliser Type’ will be defined as those fertilisers which can be classed as:
• Straight: Single (primary) nutrient, for example, sulphate of ammonia.
• Mixture: This is a fertiliser product which is made by physical mixing and may be two or more different nutrient fertilisers but can also be a fertiliser with the same nutrient. For example, this could be sulphate of ammonia mixed with superphosphate; or sulphate of ammonia mixed with hoof and horn meal.
• Compound: Chemically combined due to a manufacturing process. This is the most common fertiliser used.
A sub-category can also be recognised as follows
• Complete fertiliser: One which contains all three primary macronutrients N:P:K.
• Incomplete fertiliser: One which contains all only one or two of the three primary macronutrients, e.g. 8:0:4 (therefore missing phosphorus).
• Balanced fertiliser: One which contains the same proportions of each primary macro-nutrient, e.g. 7:7:7. A plant will not require nutrients in this same ratio, so if a balanced fertiliser is to be applied it is not about making an even amount available within a soil, but rather about topping up soil levels to ensure adequate amounts are available during the year, especially where additional nitrogen only (or dominant) fertilisers are to be applied, as P and K will be withdrawn from the soil due to increased growth produced by the applied nitrogen fertiliser.

This term is also referred to as Type of Fertiliser.