The substances offered in the fertilizer market are similar in appearance, so the buyer has a logical question: “how to check fertilizer for quality”. Hundreds of tips on social networks, media and on the Internet open spaces differ, and it is difficult to find the truth.
It is possible to determine the composition of mineral fertilizers at home, and for organic compounds you will need a laboratory.
Understandably the need to identify the quality of the product. To a summer resident, an agrarian or a gardener, the crop is important, the increase of which is directly related to the composition of the fertilizer. Here are just tips such as touch, smell, taste and appreciate in color, will not reveal the secrets of the composition of the drug.
How to check fertilizer: mineral
In the market mineral supplements for plants are presented in the form of powder or crystals. Powders often do not dissolve in water, and precipitate. This behavior is characteristic of phosphate and lime fertilizers. The composition of the drug is tested using reagents in laboratories. Qualitative reactions to the recognition of mineral fertilizers are easy to find in textbooks on analytical chemistry for higher educational institutions.
Crystals, on the contrary, are completely dissolved in water. Nitrogen fertilizers, potash and potash-phosphorus mixtures with the addition of nitrogen – a full-fledged example of fertilizers in crystalline form. Such substances are checked for the presence of ammonia, burning in the open air. The crystals burn with the release of caustic odor and clearly demonstrate the composition of the mixture the color of the flame. Sodium gives a yellow color, potassium – purple, and so on.
How to check fertilizer: organic
With organic things are more complicated. Do not believe the experts who claim that the composition of the matter is 3-5 minutes. To identify the contents will need a professional chemical laboratory, equipped with a chromatograph. Only electronics can determine the composition of a substance. By the way, the device will help the farmer to clarify the presence of hormonal drugs and other impurities in organic fertilizers.
The cost of the analysis conducted by the chemical laboratory is unlikely to please the consumer. But experts argue that conduct is necessary. After all, the projected increase in yield with the use of organic fertilizers will override the costs.
Before checking the fertilizer content, experts recommend that farmers familiarize themselves with the quality certificates that accompany the product. Often, an honest manufacturer in the presence of a package of documents confirming the quality of products.
Sellers of organic fertilizers, trying to prove the liquidity of their own product, conduct research in agrotechnical farms at the institutes. They are willing to share the results with others and publish their own research in scientific journals. Pass by decent organic fertilizers is difficult. An effective product among farmers is quickly gaining popularity and is widely heard by entrepreneurs, gardeners, summer residents and amateur flower growers.