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Fertilizer 101 What is Fertilizer?

What is Fertilizer?

Fertilizers are food for plants. Fertilizer helps farmers feed our growing population.

Overview

Plants require 17 essential nutrients in the soil to survive and to grow. Fertilizers help replenish these nutrients after each harvest.

Nitrogen, phosphate, potassium and sulphur, are the four most important nutrients for high crop yields and sustainable food production.

How Fertilizers Work

Plants extract nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and sulphur from the soil. If not replaced, these nutrients become depleted, affecting future crop growth. Fertilizers restore these nutrients and ensure plants get the balanced diet they need.

Fertilizers help to strengthen the plant, increase nutrition in crops, and help protect it from environmental stresses such as extreme weather.

Applying fertilizer requires care and precision. Ensuring fertilizer does its job means considering the type of fertilizer required for your soil and plant, the amount that provides your plant with what it needs, applying it when it is ready to take it up, and the method for applying it to the soil to be most effective. This approach is called 4R Nutrient Stewardship, a suite of best management practices that help growers optimize their fertilizer by applying the Right Rate, Right Time, and Right Place..

Learn about 4R Nutrient Stewardship

Macronutrients – NPKS

Nitrogen, Phosphate, Potassium and Sulphur are the four nutrients needed in the highest amount for high crop yields and sustainable food production:

N

Nitrogen

Learn about nitrogen

Nitrogen (N)

Nitrogen (N) makes up 78% of the air but is unusable by plants in its natural form. To create nitrogen fertilizer, nitrogen is extracted from the air and combined with hydrogen to produce ammonia. Ammonia is applied directly to crops or used to make other nitrogen fertilizers, tailored to different climates and cropping needs worldwide.

P

Phosphorus

Learn about phosphorus

Phosphorus (P)

Phosphorus (P) is present in all living cells and is essential to all forms of life. Found throughout our bodies, it is concentrated in our teeth and bones. The source of phosphorus in fertilizer is phosphate rock, which is typically mined from the earth’s crust then reacted with different kinds of acids to produce different phosphate products. The largest deposits occur in the United States, North Africa, and China.

K

Potassium

Learn about potassium

Potassium (K)

Potassium (K) is essential for plants, supporting photosynthesis, protein formation, and water use. Sourced from potash, it is mined from ancient seabed deposits containing potassium and sodium chloride. Once mined, potassium chloride is separated to create granular fertilizer. Major deposits are in Canada, Russia, Belarus, Germany, and the U.S.

S

Sulphur

Learn about sulphur

Sulphur (S)

Sulphur (S) is essential for the production of amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins found in all living things. Sulphur also helps give crops like onion, mustard and radishes their characteristic colour. While it can be found naturally in the soil, it is not always in a form plants can use.

Secondary Nutrients

Nutrients plants require but in lower quantities than NPKS.

Calcium (Ca) is essential for supporting cell structure, root health, and stress resistance. It can prevent issues like soft tissues, blossom-end rot, and tip burn. It improves soil structure, helping create loose, crumbly, well-drained soil.

Magnesium (Mg) is critical for photosynthesis, enzyme activation, and nutrient transport. It is the central atom in the chlorophyll molecule, which means no photosynthesis would happen without it. It helps move nutrients and sugars through the plant and is essential for grain filling, fruit development, and overall plant energy flow.

Micronutrients

Micronutrients are essential nutrients plants need in very small amounts. They are still crucial to the health, development, and productivity of a plant. Micronutrients include, Boron (B), Chloride (CI), Copper (Cu), Iron (Fe), Manganese (Mn), Molybdenum (Mo), Nickel (Ni) and Zinc (Zn). Although these nutrients are required is less quantities any deficiency can result in a serious decline in crop yields.

Product Innovation

While the essential nutrients remain constant, the fertilizer industry is innovating with advanced products that improve efficiency and sustainability. These include:

  • Enhanced Efficiency Fertilizers (EEFs): products that reduce nutrient losses to the environment
  • Biostimulants: substances that improve plant stress tolerance or nutrient uptake
  • Micro nutrient coatings: NPKS fertilizer granules coated in micronutrients so they can be applied as one product

Learn more about product innovations, such as enhanced efficiency fertilizers, fertilizer coatings, and biostimulants by clicking the button.

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Whether you’re a policymaker, member, or stakeholder, Fertilizer Canada is here to support your growth. Contact us to learn more about how we can work together to shape the future of agriculture.

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