please help me i am stranded can you tell me the history of fertilizer and where it started, when it started, etc..... pleze? ASAP! i need it by tonite or by tomorrow nite!
Here is what I "know", at least how I have read it and been told by some people older and wiser than myself. Commercial fertilizer was used (I hesitate to say invented) as a by product of the petroleum industry. The "chemicals" that are removed from the petroleum (refined) are waste products to the industry and must be disposed of. Word had it that plants needed these minerals and would prosper by having piles of them dumped about their roots. People tried it and their plants grew really well. People kept putting minerals on and their plants kept growing, gradually plants (the soil actually) seemed to need more and more to survive (probably because the organic microbeasties that help break down these elements naturally were overwhelmed and harmed by excess minerals being dumped on them). When leaf assays are done (leaves under microscopes looking for signs of minerals in the leaves) there are levels of minerals found that may or may not need to be amended in the plant (in the soil actually, the assumption is that if the minerals arent in the leaf then they arent in the soil, or they arent available to the plant with the current pH of the soil). since ancient times (prior to WW2) people and farmers used natural things like washed sea kelp and old plant bits (leaves etc allowed to break down and compost then spread them around on the field) to add minerals to their plants, the theory was (and it seems to make lots of sense to me) that the plant parts that break down and compost contain minerals, when they break down the minerals end up back in the soil ready to be absorbed and used by the next plant that happens to grow there. Since WW2 (world war 2) people have been inclined to use more and more packaged fertilizer to 'feed' their plants but in the last number of years their has been more information and different attitudes towards using these 'manufactured' fertilizers vs using 'natural' fertilizers. At this point I dont think the answer as to which is best has been definatively answered. hopefully this gives you something to go with as it seems your project is due by the morning. ps. For those who disagree or have thoughts about the few things I have thrown out there, lets open this thread up and see what information everyone can offer, I want to know more about this stuff too (dont we all want the truth?).
Hey timbit, The history of fertilizer? That is a big topic. I guess you started late, but when I did some general searches on the topic several interesting websites came up that would be helpful to you in researching (such as this phosphate page). Narrow your searches more carefully to your actual topic. Are you talking about the addition of nitrogen to the soil, or just the general idea that plant growth is enhanced by soil ammendments? I see these desperate posts from students working on projects from time to time. I want to help you, but think it is essential that you do the research yourself to benefit from the project. I hope that jimmyq's post got you thinking where to look for information and perhaps gave you an idea of what direction to go with your project. This is a very interesting topic and I am sure we will have some comments from people very knowledgeable about the subject (probably not until after your deadline has passed unfortunately). You may benefit from reading Guide to Google for Botanists and Gardeners by Daniel Mosquin, Bioinformatics and Web Manager at the UBC Botanical Garden. I found the article very helpful in refining searches to turn up relevant web pages. Good luck on your project!
