IMPLICATIONS OF

FERTILIZER USE

VIS-À-VIS ENVIRONMENTAL

POLLUTION

PRESENTED BY:-

MUNISH SHARMA

Dept. of Soil Science

College of Agriculture

In India agriculture provides employment to nearly

58% of Indian people.

With the advent of green revolution we have been able

to achieve self-sufficiency in food grains but the

increasing population is causing problem.

There is hardly any scope for further increase in area

under cultivation, so additional food grain production

can come only through increased soil productivity.

INTRODUCTION

So other sources like Fertilizers are the widely used medium to increase the food productivity.

FERTILIZERS

• Fertilizer is any organic or inorganic material of

natural or synthetic origin that is added to soil to

supply one or more plant nutrients essential to

growth of plants.

• Mined inorganic fertilizers have been used for

many centuries, whereas chemically synthesized

inorganic fertilizers were only widely developed

during industrial revolution.

• Fertilizer use in India started in 1906 but not much

growth took place up to 1965.

• Evolution of fertilizer responsive HYVs of rice and

wheat - a turning point.

• Fertilizer consumption and foodgrain production

increased rapidly after mid 60s.

• Fertilizer played a key role in ensuring self

sufficiency in foodgrain production.

• Role of fertilizer to enhance in future in view of

depleting soil fertility and intensification of

agriculture.

PRESENT STATUS

• Fertilizers alone account for 55% increase in

food production.

• 22.57 Mt of fertilizer (N + P2O5 + K2O) was

used in 2007–08 as compared to mere 69.8

thousand tonnes in 1950–51.

CONSUMPTION OF FERTILIZERS IN SELECTED

COUNTRIES IN 2008(Kg/ha)

COUNTRY NITROGEN

(N)

PHOSPHORUS

(P2O5)

POTASH

(K2O)

TOTAL

EGYPT 11139.1 180.4 55.0 1374.5

CANADA 1816.8 575.0 178.0 2569.8

USA 10906.0 3072.0 2531.4 16509.4

CHINA 33236.7 10500.0 4685.0 48421.7

INDIA 15090.5 6506.2 3312.6 24909.3

PAKISTAN 3035 629.9 25 3689.9

FRANCE 2098.9 295.6 390.4 2784.9

AUSTRIA 95 21 23 142

STATE- WISE CONSUMPTION OF FERTLIZERS

DURING 2009-10

S.

No.

STATE/UT PER HECTARE FERTILIZER CONSUMPTION IN Kg

N P2O5 K2O TOTAL

1. ANDHRA PRADESH 124.76 63.04 34.35 222.15

2. KARNATAKA 73.49 46.29 34.30 154.08

3. KERELA 41.66 21.76 34.53 97.96

4. TAMIL NADU 107.18 46.13 56.94 210.25

5. PUDDUCHERRY 569.92 185.62 181.40 936.94

6. A&N ISLANDS 39.96 30.64 7.50 78.10

7. GUJARAT 89.59 38.75 16.72 145.06

8. MADHYA PRADESH 45.94 29.21 5.63 80.79

9. CHATTISGARH 58.83 34.07 12.17 105.07

10. MAHARASHTRA 64.81 44.44 25.60 134.85

11. RAJASTHAN 32.60 14.50 1.61 48.71

Indian Fertilizer Scenario (2010)

CONT…..

S.

NO.STATE/UT PER HECTARE FERTILIZER CONSUMPTION IN Kg

N P2O5 K2O TOTAL

12. GOA 19.61 19.45 14.05 53.11

13. DAMAN & DIU 116.73 35.60 3.00 155.33

14. D & N HAVELI 28.90 17.21 1.78 47.89

15. HARYANA 145.42 42.43 9.25 197.10

16. PUNJAB 165.74 46.69 9.20 221.63

17. UTTAR PRADESH 114.77 39.41 11.36 165.53

18. UTTARAKHAND 93.18 20.34 5.40 118.82

19. HIMACHAL PRADESH 3.71 11.90 11.53 55.15

20. JAMMU & KASHMIR 65.70 21.32 11.46 98.48

21. DELHI 39.27 5.52 0.15 44.93

22. BIHAR 112.23 29.25 20.74 162.22

Indian Fertilizer Scenario (2010)

CONT….

S.

NO.STATE/UT PER HECTARE FERTILIZER CONSUMPTION IN Kg

N P2O5 K2O TOTAL

23. JHARKHAND 38.94 21.75 7.65 68.35

24. ODISHA 33.20 14.40 9.39 59.99

25. WEST BENGAL 75.18 50.25 47.47 172.90

26. ASSAM 31.11 8.49 16.40 56.00

27. TRIPURA 28.48 7.87 9.00 45.34

28. MANIPUR 44.70 3.52 1.07 49.29

29. MEGHALAYA 9.91 3.91 0.59 14.12

30. NAGALAND 0.96 0.43 0.24 1.63

31. ARUNACHAL PRADESH 1.32 0.31 0.11 1.74

32. MIZORAM 21.56 24.79 9.90 56.25

ALL INDIA 78.92 35.96 18.34 133.22

Indian Fertilizer Scenario (2010)

CONSUMPTION OF FERTILIZERS IN TERMS OF

NUTRIENTS(MT)

YEAR KHARIF

(N+P+K)

RABI

(N+P+K)

TOTAL

(N+P+K)

2005-06 19197 28776 47973

2006-07 18592 30389 48981

2007-08 20597 29361 49958

2008-09 23768 33696 59363

2009-10 20274 32366 63239

2010-11 19811 35322 55133

DIRECTORATE OF AGRICULTURE, (HP)

CONSUMPTION OF FERTILIZERS IN TERMS OF

NUTRIENTS(MT) YEAR KHARIF

(N+P+K)

RABI

(N+P+K)

TOTAL

(N+P+K)

BILASPUR 1266 1033 2288

CHAMBA 874 446 1320

HAMIRPUR 1603 989 2592

KANGRA 3548 5397 8945

KINNAUR 41 210 251

KULLU 1047 4004 5051

LAHAUL-SPITI 90 318 408

MANDI 2668 3978 6646

SHIMLA 1416 11062 12477

SIRMAUR 1606 1981 3567

SOLAN 2166 1996 4063

UNA 3499 4026 7525

DIRECTORATE OF AGRICULTURE, (HP)

ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS OF FERTILIZERS

Reduces pressure on landby leaving less fertile landfor other purposes.

Improves quality of humanlife.

Good plant populationreduces erosion and cleansair.

Helps in conservation of some natural vegetation

with native flora and fauna.

Has allowed farmers to continuously achieve high

yields on same land for many years, eliminating

need for clearing new lands.

Although increase food production in terms of

quantity has largely kept pace with demands of

growing population, but quality of food available is

declining.

Fertilizers have surely affected soil, water, food

quality, human health and atmosphere.

These effects are very difficult to be parted with

when amount of chemical fertilizers being used are

increasing at an alarming rate.

CONSTRAINTS

Fertilizers contain three primary plant nutrients:

mostly nitrogen and phosphorous with smaller

amounts of potassium.

Nitrogen and phosphorus- important ones as used in

larger amount by farmers.

POLLUTION BY NITROGEN

• Leaching to field drains.

• Gaseous loss as nitrogen oxides after denitrification.

• Volatilisation as ammonia.

LEACHING OF NITROGEN IN RELATION TO AGRICULTURAL CONDITIONS

FACTOR LESS LEACHING MORE LEACHING

CROP vigorous crop, establishedcrop, grassland and permanent crops.

Poor crop or fallow, seedbed application, arable cropping.

SOIL Heavy soil, poor drainage. Light soil, good drainage.

TIME OF N APPLICATION At beginning of main growing period or during active crop growth.

At end of or out of season, eg:-autumn or winter.

RATE OF N At or below recommended rate.

High or irregularly distributed rainfall.

CLIMATE Low rainfall High or irregularly distributed rainfall.

Nijhoff (1983)

POLLUTION BY PHOSPHORUS

• P - poorly taken up by crops.

• Remaining - effectively converted to water insoluble

form.

• Leaching - negligible.

• Soil erosion – important.

• P adsorbed on soil particles may be carried into

surface waters.

REMOVAL OF PHOSPHORUS

PROCESS % OF FERTILIZER P

AVERAGE RANGE

CROP REMOVAL 20 5-30

HELD IN SOIL 80 70-95

LEACHING AND RUN-OFF Less than 1 0-10

Nijhoff (1983)

POLLUTION BY POTASSIUM

• K – taken up by crops to variable extents.

• Remainder – adsorbed by cation exchange complex

of soil.

• Very little loss by- leaching.

REMOVAL OF POTASSIUM

PROCESS % OF FERTILIZER K

AVERAGE RANGE

CROP REMOVAL 80-85 50-100

HELD IN SOIL 15 0-50

LEACHING AND RUN-OFF Less than 5 0-10

Nijhoff (1983)

Growing crop does not take up all nutrients ions in

fertilizer applied to field soil. Three things can

happen to these residuals in the soil:-

• May remain in soil .

• May be added to water by process of leaching

through soil or running off surface of soil.

• May be lost to atmosphere by volatilization.

1. Effects on Soil

EFFECTS OF FERTILIZERS

5. Effects on Human health & Cattle

4. Effects on Food Quality

2. Effects on Water

3. Effects on Atmosphere

6. Effects on the Quality of the Crops

EFFECTS ON SOIL

Fertilizers if applied in excess can cause great

harm to soil. These can lead to :-

Infertile soil

Acidic soil

Increased micro organisms

Salt burns

Ground water pollution

Excess growth

INFERTILE SOIL

Fertilizers may help plants grow, but they do not

help soil they grow in.

In fact, they can do quite the opposite.

Unnaturally high levels of nutrients that some

chemical fertilizers contain can over saturate soil

and cancel out the effectiveness of other vital

nutrients.

ACIDIC SOIL

Fertilizers can make soil infertile by increasing its

acidity.

Many chemical fertilizers contain sulfuric and

hydrochloric acid, which if used in excess can cause

serious harm to microorganisms (specifically the

type that helps supply plants with nitrogen).

This can have a serious impact on the soil's pH and

adversely affect plant growth.

INCREASED MICROORGANISMS

Nitrogen-rich chemical fertilizers can have

complete opposite effect on soil in comparison to

more acidic fertilizers.

Too much nitrogen can lead to microorganism

population boom.

In large enough numbers, these microorganisms,

instead of helping plants, will hurt them, as they

will consume all of organic material and nutrients

in surrounding soil.

On other side useful microbes like nitrogen fixing

bacteria are destroyed.

GROUNDWATER POLLUTION

Plants can only absorb a certain amount of nutrients.

Unused fertilizer seeps into ground, where it can be

carried by rain and irrigation ditches into streams,

rivers, lakes, reservoirs and oceans.

Chemical compounds in fertilizer can contaminate

drinking water supplies and disrupt ecosystems.

SALT BURNS

Chemical fertilizers are often very salty.

Over-application of chemical fertilizers can thus

contribute to plants developing unsightly “salt

burns”.

These occur when over saturation of salt leads to

certain areas of plant becoming dehydrated, and

plant tissues dry out.

EXCESS GROWTH

Due to high potency of chemical fertilizers, they

can sometimes lead to plants becoming too big for

their own health.

Larger limbs and thicker foliage translates to

considerable increase weight, which can put stress

on plant's roots.

EFFECTS ON WATER

Chemical fertilizers pollute water bodies

mainly as follows:

Leaching

Run off

Eutrophication

Washing of water-soluble

compounds present in

fertilizers in excess amount

out of soil .

Movement of portion of

colloids into lower layers or

subsoil rock.

LEACHING

GROUND WATER POLLUTION IN DIFFERENT PARTS

OF INDIA

RISK ZONE AVERAGE

FERTILIZER N

CONSUMPTIO

N (kg/ha)

AVERAGE NO3

IN GROUND

WATER (mg/l)

GROUND

WATER

DEVELOPMENT

(%OF TOTAL

AVAILABLE IN

1985)

REGION

(STATES)

Little or no risk 2 6.8 <2 J&K, North

eastern States

Low risk 4-11 8-45 5-22 HP, MP, Orissa,

Maharashtra

Moderate risk 14-53 13-50 16-40 UP, Uttranchal,

Bihar, Jharkhand,

WB, Andhra

Pradesh, Gujarat

High risk 118-163 55-100 70-100 Punjab, Haryana

Handa (1986)

Water flow that occurs

when soil is infiltrated to

full capacity and excess

water from rain,

meltwater, or other

sources flows over land.

May carry fertilizers

along with water .

RUN OFF

Enrichment of surface waters

with plant nutrients.

Associated with

anthropogenic sources of

nutrients.

Process of change from one

trophic state to higher

trophic state by addition of

nutrients.

EUTROPHICATION

Increase in production and biomass of

phytoplankton, attached algae, and macrophytes.

Shift in habitat characteristics due to change in

assemblage of aquatic plants.

Replacement of desirable fish (e.g. salmonids in

western countries) by less desirable species.

Production of toxins by certain algae.

SYMPTOMS AND IMPACTS OF EUTROPHICATION

Increasing operating expenses of public water

supplies, including taste and odour problems,

especially during periods of algal blooms.

Deoxygenation of water, especially after collapse of

algal blooms, usually resulting in fish kills.

Economic loss due to change in fish species, fish

kills, etc.

Infilling and clogging of irrigation canals with aquatic

weeds.

Loss of recreational use of water due to slime, weed

infestation, and noxious odour from decaying algae.

Impediments to navigation due to dense weed growth.

EFFECTS ON HUMAN HEALTH

& CATTLE

Many diseases have been noted in humans due to use of Chemical Fertilizers such as:-

Methaeglobinemia,

Japanese encephalitis (JE),

Cancer etc

Cattle get affected by many diseases when they

graze on fields, which have high content of

chemical fertilizers such as:-

Bioaccumulation in bodies of animals.

Loss in milk production

Methaeglobinemia

Reproductive problems

Cancer etc.

TOTAL CONCENTRATION OF SELECTED HEAVY

METALS AND TRACE ELEMENTS (mg/kg of dry weight)

SOURCE As Cd Zn Cu Pb Ni

Urea <0.04 <0.2 Nd <0.6 <0.4 <0.2

DAP 9.9-16.2 4.6-35.5 10.3 <2.41 2.1-3.7 7.4-22.2

MOP 0.4 <0.2 4.59 <2.35 <0.4-10 <0.2

TSP 10.3 15.0 159 3.5 11 17

Tarafdar et al (2009)

EFFECTS ON FOOD QUALITY

Amount of vitamin C decreases with excessive

application of potassic fertilizers.

Quality and quantity of protein produced by plant.

Increases vulnerability of crop to pests and

diseases.

EFFECTS ON ATMOSPHERE

Green house effect:- increase in nitrogen oxides dueto nitrogenous fertilizers use like urea.

Ammonia emission from fertilized lands, may beoxidized and turn into nitric acid, sulfuric acid fromindustrial sources, create acid rain after the chemicaltransformations.

Nitrous oxide content in the atmosphere has increasedby about 25 % over the previous century. About 1/3rdof this increase is thought to be due to agriculturalpractices.

Adding urea fertilizer to soil enhances methane

emission further leading to green house effect.

EFFECTS ON QUALITY OF

CROP

Leads to dwarfism of crops.

Affect growth of elongating hormones of crops resulting intodwarf crops.

With excessive use of urea, plants become succulent anddark green colour thus becoming more vulnerable to pestsand diseases.

Increases growth of plant but weakens stem.

Reduces quality of seeds.

MEAN GRAIN YIELD ( t / ha ) OF CROPS UNDER LONG TERM

FERTILIZATION AND MANURING

LOCATION CROPS MEAN GRAIN YIELD ( t /ha )

Unfertilized 100% NPK 100% NPK

+ FYM

150%

NPK

Barrackpore

(27 years)

Rice 1.6 3.9 4.1 4.3

Wheat 0.8 2.4 2.5 2.9

Bhubaneswar

(22 years)

Rice 1.6 2.8 3.5 3.0

Wheat 1.4 3.0 3.7 3.3

Ludhiana

(29 years)

Maize 0.4 2.6 3.2 2.5

Wheat 1.0 4.8 5.0 4.9

Pantnagar

(28 years)

Rice 3.1 5.3 6.0 5.3

Wheat 1.5 3.8 4.5 4.1

Palampur

(26 years)

Maize 0.3 3.2 4.6 4.0

Wheat 0.3 2.5 3.3 3.0

Swarup et al., (2000)

OTHER EFFECTS ON ENVIRONMENT

• Adverse effects on fish population and other aquatic

animals.

• Decreased potability of water.

PROMOTION OF ENVIRONMENTALLY

SUSTAINABLE FERTILIZER USE

There are several things to keep in mind to protect environment when using fertilizer:

• Get your soil tested regularly.

• Know nutrient needs of your crop.

• Apply fertilizers at proper time.

• Take extra precautions on slopes.

• If you use organic fertilizer sources, have themtested.

• Apply fertilizers only to healthy plants or reduce amount to unhealthy plants.

• Store your fertilizer materials properly.

• Use plant debris and compost as source of nutrients.

• Break up fertilizer applications on sandy soils.

• Follow up fertilizer applications with light irrigation.

AlternativesAlternative of Chemical Fertilizers: The

Organic Manure

Farm Yard Manure (FYM) Cow Dung

Green Manure

Vermi Compost

Bio Fertilizers

FARM YARD MANURE

Decomposed mixture of

dung and urine of farm

animals .

Along with litter and left

over material from

roughages or fodder fed

to cattle.

VERMICOMPOST

Process of composting

using various worms,

usually red wigglers,

white worms, and other

earthworms.

Create heterogeneous

mixture of decomposing

vegetable or food waste,

bedding materials, and

vermicast.

GREEN MANURE

Growing crop, such as

clover or grass, that is

ploughed under soil to

improve fertility.

Can also reduce erosion.

If crop is leguminous,

add nitrogen to soil.

Are ready to use live formulates.

Made of beneficial microbes.

On application mobilize the availability of

nutrients by their biological activities in

particular .

Help in build up micro flora and in turn soil

health in general.

BIOFERTILIZERS

To encourage biological cycles in farming

system.

To enhance and maintain long term soil fertility.

To mobilize organic matter and nutrients in soil.

To use renewable resources.

To avoid pollution.

To maintain genetic diversity.

To produce qualitative food in sufficient quantity

acceptable socially and economically.

OBJECTIVES OF ORGANIC FARMING

COMPARISIONCharacters Chemical fertilizers Organic fertilizers

Production Centralized Decentralized

Process Chemical Biological

Energy Budget Energy intensive Low energy bill

Raw materials Based on non-renewable energy

sources

Atm. N for N fixers, cow

dung, green manure etc.

Toxicity High Low

Losses N due to leaching, volatilization and

denitrification; P due to fixation

Negligible.

Characters Chemical Fertlizers Organic fertilizers

Pollution Exists due to indiscriminate use. Pollution free & environment

friendly

Residual effect Nil(N) +ve

Cost of Production High Low

Shelf-life Long Short

Accessibility Affordable section Small and marginal farmers

Irrigation More useful to irrigated crops. Useful for both irrigated and

rainfed crops.

Microbe activity Low High

Long term effect Deteriorates the soil health Improves the soil health.

Singh (2007)

Environmental friendly,

Restoration of soil fertility and productivity,

Production of quality foods,

Avoidance of pollution of soil, water and air,

BENEFITS

Uses low cost technology.

No need of big fertilizer producing factories

causing pollution,

Sustainable agricultural production.

YIELD AND YIELD ATTRIBUTES OF RICE UNDER CONVENTIONAL AND

ORGANIC CROP MANAGEMENT IN A FIXED PLOT EXPERIMENT

TREATMENT YIELD (t/ha) NO. OF

EAR

HEAD/ m2

GRAINS

/EAR

HEAD

GRAIN

WT./EAR

HEAD (g)GRAIN STRAW

RICE (2001)

Unfertilised (control) 2.34 3.09 196 43 0.63

100% NPK 5.15 6.59 250 94 1.68

75% NPK + 25%

N(FYM)

5.24 6.48 258 95 1.75

Soil test based NPK 5.53 6.86 285 94 1.71

Organic farming 3.84 4.69 236 77 1.65

Yadav et al., (2002)

YIELD AND YIELD ATTRIBUTES OF WHEAT UNDER CONVENTIONAL

AND ORGANIC CROP MANAGEMENT IN A FIXED PLOT EXPERIMENT

TREATMENT YIELD (t/ha) NO. OF

EAR

HEAD/ m2

GRAINS/

EAR

HEAD

GRAINS

WT./ EAR

HEAD (g)GRAIN STRAW

Wheat (2001-02)

Unfertilised (control) 2.11 2.91 238 26 1.16

100% NPK 4.82 6.54 375 38 1.70

75% NPK + 25%

N(FYM)

5.20 6.95 370 42 1.74

Soil test based NPK 5.45 7.72 380 42 1.93

Organic farming 4.16 5.35 282 35 1.73

Yadav et al., (2002)

CONCLUSION

Today, use of fertilizers is seen as a necessary

agricultural technology.

Firstly soil analysis should be performed carefully, after

then, fertilizers should be applied to soil.

The structure and chemical content of the soil should be

identified and most appropriate type of fertilizers

should be selected.

No question arises on ability of Chemical Fertilizers to

increase productivity of soil.

But this is also true that it has many ill effects on

environment.

The effects of chemical fertilizers can easily be avoided

by :-

applying recommended doses of fertilizers

going for organic manures

In the end it can be concluded that fertilizers are a

necessary evil.

Application of fertilizers at right place, right dose and

right time without causing any harm to environment

can lead to greater productivity and greater results.