|
Runoff from commercial fertilizers can endanger our water resources. What standards, if any, does the agricultural industry use for fertilizing commodity and other crops? How does the industry work to offset damages to the environment caused by commercial fertilizer runoff? Author: clrexford:Topic: Water Quality: |
9Vote |
Most farmers take soil samples to determine the availability of nitrogen, phosphoros and potassium. They then compare the available nutrients with the amount they expect to remove as the crop and spread only that much fertilizer on the field. In areas with pivot irrigation, they often spread the fertilizer application through key growing periods of the plant so that they further minimize the risk of runoff.
If they use legumes or manure, they also take the nutrient content of those nutrient sources into account.