Fertilisers

Fertilisers are concentrated sources of plant nutrients, usually in compact form such as pellets, granules, powders or liquids. They are used to improve plant growth and yields.

Fertilisers are used to improve plant growth. The faster growing the plant, the more it will benefit from fertiliser application. If you have a healthy soil, it is often not necessary to use fertilisers, but using them may produce a showier display of blooms or a higher yield of produce from edible crops.

Fertilisers are also used where plants are showing signs of nutrient deficiency, usually shown by leaf yellowing or discolouration in varying patterns for different nutrients.

Remember that healthy soil structure and pH are just as important as fertiliser application in the prevention of plant nutrient deficiencies. Soil conditioners such as manure and compost help the soil to form into crumbs with spaces for air and water between them, making nutrients, water and air all more available to plant roots. Lime is added to remedy acidity.

Fertiliser spreading advice

Increasing your crop yield and quality doesn’t have to be hard. Getting your spreader settings right might be your best spent few minutes in crop management.

Nitrate based fertilisers are the most efficient form of nitrogen

Nitrate based fertilisers, are pure nutrients, offering the required precision efficiency and reliability to meet the agronomic and environmental imperatives of modern agriculture. Nitrate nitrogen has been proven to be the best form of nitrogen for UK farming conditions. 

Agronomic efficiency 

 Immediately available nitrogen - Nitrogen present as nitrate and ammonium, immediately available for plant uptake Highly soluble sulphur - Where included sulphur is present as calcium sulphate which is highly soluble so reaches plant roots quickly Higher yield than urea - At identical nitrogen application rates, nitrates achieve offers 2 – 5% higher yield than urea based fertilisers Enhanced protein - Nitrate fertilisers enhance protein content by 0.3 – 0.9% compared to urea based fertilisers

Compound fertilisers with each nutrient contained in every granule or prill

NPK fertilisers contain combinations of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and in most cases sulphur too – the most essential plant nutrients – designed to meet specific crop requirements to maximize crop yield and quality.