Nitrogen is a part of chlorophyll Essay

Experiment- Using the fertilizer is important for many gardeners as it helps their plants to grow strong and healthy plus fertilizers can be fairly expensive and not all work as predicted, also Gardeners only get one chance at either growing their crop or plants so it is essential for them to get the fertilizer right. This experiment will focus on 6 major fertilizer brands to find out which is the best- Research- Nitrogen (N) Nitrogen is a part of all living cells and is a necessary part of all proteins, enzymes and metabolic processes involved in the synthesis and transfer of energy. Nitrogen is a part of chlorophyll, the green pigment of the plant that is responsible for photosynthesis. Helps plants with rapid growth, increasing seed and fruit production and improving the quality of leaf and forage crops. Nitrogen often comes from fertilizer application and from the air (legumes get their N from the atmosphere, water or rainfall contributes very little nitrogen) Phosphorus (P) Like nitrogen, phosphorus (P) is an essential part of the process of photosynthesis. Involved in the formation of all oils, sugars, starches, etc. Helps with the transformation of solar energy into chemical energy; proper plant maturation; withstanding stress. Effects rapid growth. Encourages blooming and root growth. Phosphorus often comes from fertilizer, bone meal, and superphosphate. Potassium (K) Potassium is absorbed by plants in larger amounts than any other mineral element except nitrogen and, in some cases, calcium. Helps in the building of protein, photosynthesis, fruit quality and reduction of diseases. Potassium is supplied to plants by soil minerals, organic materials, and fertilizer. Calcium (Ca) Calcium, an essential part of plant cell wall structure, provides for normal transport and retention of other elements as well as strength in the plant. It is also thought to counteract the effect of alkali salts and organic acids within a plant. Sources of calcium are dolomitic lime, gypsum, and superphosphate. Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium and Calcium are all the essential nutrients usually added to help aide in the plants growth as when the plant grows it absorbs large proportions of each nutrient meaning that there will be near to none left, ending in a stunted growth, Gardeners and farmers add these nutrients to the ground to ensure there will always be enough for when the plant grows, the acidity of the soil is another reason why nutrients are added because the higher the acidic level of the soil the more nutrients will be lost. All fertilizers have a controlled release which ensures that they will last longer. Information on Fertilizers used- Urea- Urea has the highest concentration of nitrogen that a fertilizer can offer, it is composed of 50% Nitrogen, as it is usually Nitrogen that is absorbed the most by plants during growth. It is one of the basic fertilizers as it only offers one nutrient to the plants. Osmocote- Osmocote offers the most diverse and wide range of nutrients to plants, Osmocote is composed of Nitrogen, Sulphur, Phosphorus, Potassium and Calcium and also contains organic seed growing mix to help with faster seed growth. It also contains a wetting agent which ensures that it will stay moisturized for longer. Nitrophoska- Nitrophoska is the most environmentally friendly of all the fertilizers as the components wear off over a certain time into the soil leaving no traces or harm to the environment, it also is one of the few fertilizers that can be used on any plant. Nitrophoska contains Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium. NPK Fertilizer- NPK fertilizer is the most commonly used and manufactured fertilizer as it contains the three essential nutrients for plant growth Nitrogen, Potassium and Phosphorus. Due to its high domestic demand many plants are also able to have NPK Fertilizer used on them. Blood and Bone- Blood & Bone Based Fertilizer contains 65% blood and Bone meal with added animal manure (Nitogen-5. 4: Phosphorus4. 0: Potassium-0. 4). Blood and Bone contains the most organic matter of all the fertilizers, which gives the plant a larger leaf growth and can be used on a wide range of plants and trees. Control- A controlled test with only garden soil and no fertilizer to test and compare to the other fertilizers. Why choose Granular? Another important thing that needs to be discussed is why use Granular fertilizer out of a whole range of other fertilizer types. Reasons- Granular fertilizer can be weighted or measured more easily to ensure that one test doesn’t receive more fertilizer then the one next to it. Granular fertilizer is the cheapest form of fertilizer and it is ideal for indoor and pot plants. Granular fertilizer contains the most nutrients that a fertilizer can offer giving it the advantage over other fertilizers and saving on buying extras, Granular fertilizers also come wetting agents which ensures that it has water for longer. Granular fertilizers are much less harmful as they don’t contain micro bacteria or other harmful substances. And Granular fertilizers offer the widest variety to choose from giving the buyer of an option of what type of fertilizers to buy and which ones will suit their plants. Granular fertilizers are also time released, meaning that it allows nutrients to flow out of the granules and into the soil over time, meaning that the plant will have a constant supply of food and nutrients. Granular fertilizer were chosen to be used for this experiment as they offered a wider variety of advantage for plant growth, to wetting agents and that it was easiest to measure/ weight to give a fairer test. Bibliography http://feeco. com/2011/12/07/npk-fertilizer-what-is-it-and-how-does-it-work/- Information given on NPK fertilizer and its components, benefits and other facts. http://www. grahamturf. com/main/reference/images/liquid_vs_granular. pdf- Information about Granular Fertilizers, what they are good for, which plants they are good for and what they are made of. Http://www. incitecpivot. com. au/entec_nitrophoska_blue. cfm- Information given about Nitrophoska fertilizer and its components, benefits and other facts. http://www. incitecpivot. com. au/zone_files/PDFs/Urea_Factsheet.pdf- Information given about Urea fertilizer and its components, benefits and other facts. http://www. ncagr. gov/cyber/kidswrld/plant/nutrient. htm- Information given on the essential nutrients needed by plants and how the plants benefit from those nutrients. Http://www. scottsaustralia. com. au/media/MSDS/Osmocote-Plus-Organics-Plant-Starter-(120840)-1010. pdf- Information given on Osmocote fertilizer and its components, benefits and other facts. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Fertilizer- Information on common fertilizers, their purpose and what they contain and why they contain it, basically a fact sheet on fertilizers http://www. yates. com. au/commercial/products/plant-food/organic-based/blood-bone-based-fertiliser/- Information given on Blood and Bone fertilizer and its components, benefits and other facts. Aim- To find out which common household granular fertilizer, and state which fertilizer those with phosphorus, nitrogen or other, promotes the fastest and healthiest growth in plants/grass in a controlled amount of time consisting of six weeks, by measuring and recording the growth of each plant over an allocated time period, and to record nutrients and water levels left in the plants every Week, to determine which fertilizer is the best.