Methods of Fertilizer Application

Methods of fertilizer
application
BY
Zeeshan Akram
Soil Chemist
Email: uafshani430@gmail.com

Methods of fertilizer application
 Since most of the soils do not provide the requisite nutrients necessary
for the growth and health of plants, they have to be fed with fertilizers to
overcome the deficiency.
 Also, fertilizers are not one-time materials which once provided do not
have to be re-supplied.
 In fact, every time you harvest your plants, they remove some nutrients
along with them.
 Thus, regular supply of fertilizers to plants is a must to ensure their
regular growth and yield. Find out more about the significance of
fertilizers in the following lines.

• The fertilizer scheduling must be based on soil test.
• Selection of fertilizers should be done according to the soil
reaction viz., acidic fertilizers for alkaline soils and basic
fertilizers for acidic soil reactions.
• Surface application through broadcasting should not be
adopted but the fertilizers should be placed about 3-4 cms by
the side or below the seed.

• The Phosphotic and Potassic fertilizers should be basal
placed, because their poor mobility restricts them to the
place of application. Therefore, they must be placed in the
root zone.
• Home mixing of fertilizers should be in accordance with the
fertilizer-mixing guide and such fertilizers mixture must be
applied as soon as possible.

 In case of heavy soil type, half of the nitrogenous fertilizers
should be basal placed and rest should be top-dressed in one
split only.
 But in case of light soils, nitrogen should be applied in three
equal splits i.e 1/3 as basal, 1/3 after 30 days of sowing and
the balance 1/3 about 50-60 days after sowing.

 For at least a week, flooding with too deep water or poor
drainage should be avoided after application of the fertilizers.
 Top dressing should be done after draining out the water and
weeding so that the loss of nutrient is minimum. Paddy fields,
used for transplanting, should be puddled and fertilizers should
be applied at the time of puddling. This will help fertilizers to
penetrate and get stored in the soil.

 The acidic soils should be treated with liming materials as and
when required.
 Deep placement of fertilizers, along with foliar feeding of
nitrogen (i.e., urea) through spraying of nitrogenous fertilizers
in place of top dressing should be done in case of dry lands.
 Addition of organic manures or green manuring should be
done at least once in 3-5 years. Weed growth should not be
permitted in cropped areas, during any part of the year.

• In case of flooded fields or calcareous soils, use of slow release
nitrogenous fertilizers like Sulphur coated urea, urea super
granules, Neem coated or Neem blended urea's should be used
so that loss of nitrogen can be minimized.
• Mud bolls, contain urea and should be used in case of
deepwater crops because they help in proper placement and
also reduce the loss of nitrogen from the field.

The relative efficiencies of the various methods depends on many
factors.
Broadcast application may be less effective than banded or seed
row application under some conditions.
Fertilizer placed in the seed row can delay or severely reduce
crop emergence.
Fertilizers application based on

The maximum rate that can be safely placed in the seed row depends
on:
• Crop type
• Soil moisture
• Soil type (clay and organic matter content)
• Type of fertilizer
• Row spacing and
• Spread of seed and fertilizer (type of opener)

Nitrogen fertilizers application based on leaf color chart
The leaf color chart (LCC) is an innovative cost effective tool for
real-time or crop-need-based N management.
LCC is a visual and subjective indicator of plant nitrogen
deficiency and is an inexpensive, easy to use and simple alternative
to chlorophyll meter /SPAD meter (soil plant analysis
development) .
It measures leaf color intensity that is related to leaf N status.

LCC is an ideal tool to optimize N use at high yield levels,
irrespective of the source of N applied, viz., organic manure,
biologically fixed N, or chemical fertilizers.
Thus, it is an eco-friendly tool in the hands of farmers. Now, it is
manufactured with 4 colors called Four Panel LCC & 6 colors
called Six Panel LCC.
Moreover, LCC is provided with water-proof laminated instruction
sticker in the required regional language.

• Purpose of using LCC is to apply adequate amount of nitrogen
and avoid application of fertilizer more than required.
• Use of LCC helps to determine nitrogen demand of the crop
and guide right time of fertilizer nitrogen application so as to
prevent unwanted nitrogen losses and their serious impacts on
the ecosystem.

 More Crop
 Less Cost
 Avoid Disease
 Reduction of GHG Emission

a) Broadcasting
In generally banana crops broad casting methods are not followed .
b) Placement
It refers to the placement of fertilizers in soil at a specific place with or without
reference to the position of the seed.
Placement of fertilizers is normally recommended when the quantity of fertilizers to
apply is small, development of the root system is poor, soil have a low level of
fertility and to apply phosphatic and potassic fertilizer.

i) Plough sole placement
In this method, fertilizer is
placed at the bottom of the
plough furrow in a
continuous band during
the process of ploughing.

ii) Deep placement
It is the placement of ammoniacal nitrogenous fertilizers in the
reduction zone of soil particularly in paddy fields, where
ammoniacal nitrogen remains available to the crop.
This method ensures better distribution of fertilizer in the root
zone soil and prevents loss of nutrients by run-off.

iii) Localized placement
It refers to the application of fertilizers into the soil close to the seed
or plant in order to supply the nutrients in adequate amounts to the
roots of growing plants.
The common methods to place fertilizers close to the seed or plant
are as follows:

a) Drilling
• In this method, the fertilizer is applied at the time of sowing by
means of a seed-cum-fertilizer drill.
• This places fertilizer and the seed in the same row but at different
depths.
• Although this method has been found suitable for the application
of Phosphotic and Potassic fertilizers in cereal crops, but sometimes
germination of seeds and young plants may get damaged due to
higher concentration of soluble salts.

b) Side dressing
It refers to the spread of fertilizer in between the rows and around
the plants. The common methods of side-dressing are
Placement of nitrogenous fertilizers by hand in between the rows of
crops like maize, sugarcane, cotton etc., to apply additional doses of
nitrogen to the growing crops and
Placement of fertilizers around the trees like mango, apple, grapes,
papaya etc.

c) Band placement
• If refers to the placement of fertilizer in bands.
• Band placement is of two types.
i) Hill placement
It is practiced for the application of fertilizers in orchards. In this
method, fertilizers are placed close to the plant in bands on one
or both sides of the plant.
The length and depth of the band varies with the nature of the
crop.

ii) Row placement
When the crops like sugarcane, potato, maize, cereals etc., are sown
close together in rows, the fertilizer is applied in continuous bands on one
or both sides of the row, which is known as row placement.
d) Pellet application
It refers to the placement of nitrogenous fertilizer in the form of pellets 2.5
to 5 cm deep between the rows of the paddy crop.
The fertilizer is mixed with the soil in the ratio of 1:10 and made small
pellets of convenient size to deposit in the mud of paddy fields.

 When the fertilizer is placed, there is minimum contact between the
soil and the fertilizer, and thus fixation of nutrients is greatly reduced.
 The weeds all over the field can not make use of the fertilizers.
 Residual response of fertilizers is usually higher.
 Utilization of fertilizers by the plants is higher.
 Loss of nitrogen by leaching is reduced
 Being immobile, phosphates are better utilized when placed.

a) Starter solutions
It refers to the application of solution of N, P2O5 and K2O in the ratio
of 1:2:1 and 1:1:2 to young plants at the time of transplanting,
particularly for vegetables.
Starter solution helps in rapid establishment and quick growth of
seedlings.
The disadvantages of starter solutions are
• Extra labour is required, and
• the fixation of phosphate is higher

b) Foliar application
It refers to the spraying of fertilizer solutions containing one or more nutrients on
the foliage of growing plants.
Several nutrient elements are readily absorbed by leaves when they are dissolved
in water and sprayed on them.
The concentration of the spray solution has to be controlled, otherwise serious
damage may result due to scorching of the leaves.
Foliar application is effective for the application of minor nutrients like iron,
copper, boron, zinc and manganese. Sometimes insecticides are also applied along
with fertilizers.

c) Application through irrigation water (Fertigation)
• It refers to the application of water soluble fertilizers through
irrigation water.
• The nutrients are thus carried into the soil in solution.
• Generally nitrogenous fertilizers are applied through irrigation
water.

d) Injection into soil
 Liquid fertilizers for injection into the soil may be of either pressure
or non-pressure types.
 Non-pressure solutions may be applied either on the surface or in
furrows without appreciable loss of plant nutrients under most
conditions.
 Anhydrous ammonia must be placed in narrow furrows at a depth
of 12-15 cm and covered immediately to prevent loss of ammonia

e) Aerial application
In areas where ground application is not practicable, the fertilizer solutions are
applied by aircraft particularly in hilly areas, in forest lands, in grass lands or in
sugarcane fields etc.

There are three ways of using these N
fixing/P.S.M. bacteria.

S.No. Method of
Application
Crops Dose/
packets
/Acre
Water Ratio
BF
water
Soil
1 Root dip
application
All crops 200g
bio-
fertilizer
s
400 ml 1:2 ***
2 sucker /set
treatment
Sets of
sugarcane
base of
banana
1 or 2kg 50 or
100
litres
1:50 ***
3 Soil
application
All crops 2 kg for
wetting
*** 40-
50kg

Sucker treatment
• Sucker treatment is a most common method adopted for all types of
inoculants.
• The sucker treatment is effective and economic.
• The coating can be done in a plastic bucket . For this purposes, a plastic
bucket or big can be used.
• Solutions can be used as sticker add @15-25 ml/kg
• The bucket have to filled with 10% sugar solution or 40% Gum Arabic or
synthetic glue or glues of vegetable or animal origin or honey or mineral oil
or peanut oil or soybean oil or 10% molasses or tice starch etc.
• The use of sticker is in view of to increase the amount of inoculants that
will adhere to sucker so that number of rhizobia on the each sucker must
retain higher population i.e. 103
to 106
.

Root Dipping
• The required quantity of Azospirillum has to be mixed with 5-10 ltr of water
at one corner of the field and all the plants have to kept for minimum ½ an
hour before plating.
Soil Application
 Mix 4 kg each of biofertilizers in 200 kg of compost and leave it overnight.
Apply this mixture in the soil at the time of sowing or planting.
 In plantation crops apply this mixture near root zone and cover with soil.

Methods of Fertilizer Application

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