Introduction to Organic Fertilizers for Plant Health
Organic fertilisers are the most important tools for engineers of the agricultural environment to not only improve plant health but also maintain environmental sustainability in agriculture while remaining part of the global ecology. While natural fertilisers belong to the class of organic are blends of natural fertilisers and various natural products. These include compost, biochar, chitin, manures, plant residues, agricultural and forest products, secondary biomass from food-processing industries, blood, and bone meal.
Organic fertilisers are products of green agriculture and green economy in Europe, which develops endogenously and exogenously, adhering to the principles of ecological equilibrium and the recycling of environmental resources. Not only the logic of the European agricultural system, but also the green logics of society should be in favour of the extensive usage of organic fertilisers and should shape the specificity of plant health through green engineering in order to ensure sustainable yields and continual nurturing of plant life under the principle of environmental sustainability in agriculture.
Organic fertilisers are the most important tools for engineers of the agricultural environment to not only improve plant health but also maintain environmental sustainability in agriculture while remaining part of the global ecology. While natural fertilisers belong to the class of organic are blends of natural fertilisers and various natural products. These include compost, biochar, chitin, manures, plant residues, agricultural and forest products, secondary biomass from food-processing industries, blood, and bone meal.
Organic fertilisers are products of green agriculture and green economy in Europe, which develops endogenously and exogenously, adhering to the principles of ecological equilibrium and the recycling of environmental resources. Not only the logic of the European agricultural system, but also the green logics of society should be in favour of the extensive usage of organic fertilisers and should shape the specificity of plant health through green engineering in order to ensure sustainable yields and continual nurturing of plant life under the principle of environmental sustainability in agriculture.
The definition of organic fertilisers is quite vast and encompasses any natural material that feeds plants, while also improving the soil’s fertility and structure. For instance, compost – a typical organic fertiliser – is the best example of a circular economy where we are able to turn organic waste into a valuable input for agriculture – raw materials for life. The organic matter added to the soil fosters microbial activity and nutrient cycling, efficiently contributing to crop health.
Another organic fertiliser is manure, be it of livestock or poultry origin, which can act as a ‘nutrient bomb’ due to its nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium contents replenishing the soil through input of essential elements that feed plants. Photo of a pasture from an organic farm in Champagne in France. Courtesy of Romain Beaux/FFAHow organic fertilisers are making a difference in our journey towards sustainable agriculture can be exemplified through the work of European farmers using circular resources to reduce their ecological footprint to grow healthy crops.
Putting it another way, green growth is at the very core of Europe’s agricultural narrative; an economic project that is, and must be, about good environmental stewardship. Here, the right organic fertiliser is vital in turning this vision of sustainable agriculture into reality: through its support of soil health, biodiversity and climate adaptability, it can help Europe find its pathway to a green and sustainable future. By following the principles of ecological intensification and resource efficiency, the continent’s farmers can create productive agricultural ecosystems that generate and sustain European societies into the future.
Types of Organic Fertilizers Suitable for Plant Health
European farmers have a wide variety of organic fertilisers to choose from: beyond animal manures – in the form of slurry, urine, or composted manure – there are options such as urea-rich crop residues, sewage sludge, and the more recently researched fertilisers made from fish waste, grass clippings, cigarette butt waste and mushroom compost. Compost, itself a stalwart of modern organic agriculture, is as old as soil itself.
It is a biologically active material produced through the controlled decomposition of plant and animal materials, and it’s essential to the practice of growing food in a sustainable manner. It’s produced by piling untreated organic wastes (typically sexual, non-blood materials, but sometimes including faeces) in a manner that encourages the natural activity of microorganisms and fungi.
Another prominent organic fertiliser is animal manure, comprising cow, horse or poultry or other animal faeces that provide excreted nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, the big three plant nutrients. They serve as the balanced dinner for plants to grow robustly and healthily. They also create a healthy environment for root development and for water retention. For centuries, manure was used to improve our soil and grow food. Using it properly can enhance crop yields as well as encourage productivity in the long term and the health of our soil.
Bio-based fertilisers are a relatively new type of organic fertiliser that is finding success in European agriculture. Unlike conventional fertilisers, these bio-based fertilisers are of renewable plant or animal origin, making them an environmentally-friendly alternative but with the same quality nutrients as their conventional counterparts. Some examples of bio-based fertilisers include bone meal, fish emulsion and seaweed extract, offering a wide variety of benefits for plant growth and soil fertility. For European farmers, the greener approach of bio-based fertilisers would enable them to reduce the need for synthetic inputs and provide the soil with a wider range of nutrients using environmentally friendly products that support the health of soils and ecosystem resilience.
Benefits of Using Organic Fertilizers for Plant Health
Using organic fertilisers offers a multitude of advantages to plants and agricultural ecosystems, which is why they are essential tools for sustainable farming. The first advantage is nutritional. Whereas synthetic fertilisers are typically one-dimensional in terms of what nutrients they add to soil and crops, organic fertilisers (especially compost and manure) add a plethora of nutrients in balanced proportions, including micronutrients, vitamins and trace minerals that synthetic fertilisers leave out.
In addition, organic fertilisers benefit soil structure and fertility, helping to create optimum conditions for plant roots and soil life. For example, compost increases soil aggregation and porosity, which are both vital for good water infiltration and root penetration into the soil. This leads to better soil aeration and drainage, which reduces the risk of waterlogging and root diseases. Overall, by improving soil health, organic fertilisers increase soil’s resilience to environmental challenges and create optimal growing conditions for plant growth.
Moreover, because organic fertilisers boost organic matter and microbial activity in the soil, they help in nutrient cycling and biological activity in the soil. For instance, organic matter will be broken down by microorganisms (eg, bacteria, fungi and earthworms) and released in its plant-available form. This helps in developing a vibrant and diverse microbiome within the soil, and in a healthier and more resilient agricultural ecosystem, thereby reducing the need for chemical inputs and the restoration of a more balanced and sustainable way of soil management and plant nutrition.
Thus organic fertilisers that provide nutrition to the plants as well as improving soil health and fertility allow European farmers to harvest crops that are good both for the consumer and for the long-term care of the land, and thereby they contribute to the care and sustainable development of production.
Application Techniques and Best Practices for Organic Fertilizers
Organic fertilisers would be used effectively only if it ensured the recommended quantity of nutrients to the crop while having minimum effect on the environment. The important key to apply organic fertilisers would be to closely observe the crops’ nutrient requirements and fertilise them as per demand. The nutrient needs of crop vary at different growth stages. This variation influences the amount of fertiliser required at different growth stages.
Timing of application is also very important. Applying organic fertilisers before planting, or at the start of the growing season, is an ideal way to help nutrients be taken up by plants when they most need them. This leads to strong rooting and robust early growth, assuring best possible yields.
So, if we are applying organic fertilisers, we should have them spread evenly across a field so that all plants can get nutrients more uniformly. Broadcasting and banding are two methods to accomplish this. Broadcasting refers to a method where fertilisers are spread over the soil surface, whereas banding is a method to place fertilisers in rows or bands near plant roots. Banding is most effective if the crops have shallow root systems since nutrients will go where the roots are.
But preserving the benefits of organic fertiliser does not hinge on its timing and distribution only, but also on its proper incorporation in the soil so that nutrient losses do not occur through runoff or volatilisation. Incorporation allows nutrients from organic fertiliser to remain in the root zone, effectively retained for the uptake of plants. Proper incorporation can be achieved through tillage and cultivation, or irrigation, according to crop and soil management practices.
Furthermore, checking soil nutrient status so that fertiliser application can be precisely adjusted to the crop requirement to prevent either excesses or deficiencies, based on fertiliser recommendations on the basis of information from soil tests and crop performance, is mandatory.
This timely both ends any involuntary provision of nutrients from organic materials that are not optimal for any crop, and ensures that amounts of nutrients provided in organic fertiliser are not excessively high, and that the nutrients provided are in such an availability that plants can utilise them successfully. Implementing these measures in the application of organic fertiliser can help European farmers to optimise crop yields with minimal damage to the environment and high conservation of soil health in the long term.
Challenges and Solutions in Implementing Organic Fertilizers for Plant Health
Although organic fertilisers improve plant health and bring about the sustainable fertility of the soil, widespread uptake in Europe is hindered by the misperception of them as less effective or more costly than synthetic fertilisers. This attitude prevents organic fertilisers from gaining popularity among farmers despite their well-documented advantages in terms of soil health and environmental sustainability.
Furthermore there might not be sufficient amounts of free organic fertilisers which is the case in areas where organic farming is especially less common and farmers might not easily find good suppliers of organic fertilisers that might make farming more difficult considering their farmers might not want to deviate from what they are used to. Additionally the organic fertiliser can be more costly to produce or buy than the synthetic one and might not be viable for a small scale farmer financially.
There are also regulatory constraints and certification requirements that make it difficult for farmers to shift to organic fertilisers. For a farmer to sell his produce as organic, he has to follow the rules of organic production, including organic inputs that are regulated. These can require a lot of paperwork and, eventually, an inspection and certification process that might discourage some farmers from wanting to be certified.
Yet, in spite of these hindrances, there still exist approaches and strategies that can help negate some of the main obstacles to the use of organic fertilisers. Government subsidies aid to farmers who intend to undergo the economic transformation of shifting to organic-farming systems. They might also supply to farmers, as well as give them succinct lectures on the benefits of using organic fertilisers and the most effective way to use these biocommodities effectively and economically. Extension services that teach farmers about the importance and use of natural fertilisers can be crucial in establishing organic fertilisers as an accepted conventional approach for farmers.
Also, by raising market demand for organic products, farmers can upgrade their usage of organic fertilizer as more consumers who seek organic food and products will create a new market flooded with organic products. By raising consumers’ awareness of the advantages of organic farming and the social responsibility of encouraging environmentally-friendly agricultural practices, farmers can produce market niche for their products and encourage selling organic fertilizers.
The necessary actions to facilitate the uptake of organic fertilisers involve collaboration among the various agricultural stakeholders across the whole agricultural supply chain. The responsibilities and financial support involved fall upon governments, research institutions, farmers, processors and all the other stakeholders of the food and agricultural industry. In the long run, companies in the food industry should acknowledge the higher long-term benefits of developing, producing and marketing fertilisers, animal feed or other products that can be enhanced or improved by using organic fertilisers.
The necessary actions to overcome the barriers to the uptake of organic fertilisers involve collaboration among the various agricultural stakeholders across the whole agricultural supply chain. This international collaboration and exchange of information is necessary to solve the problems related to their uptake. It is the responsibility of governments, research institutions, farmers and all other stakeholders of the food and agricultural industry to find solutions to these challenges. Overcoming barriers to the uptake of organic fertilisers will help to improve soil health across Europe, protect the environment and ensure the long-term productivity and resilience of agricultural and food systems in Europe.
Future Perspectives and Emerging Trends in Organic Fertilizers
There are exciting prospects for organic fertilisers as European agriculture evolves, and a lot of work happening right now on developing more effective, available and affordable systems for organic fertiliser production. The use of organic fertilisers will remain a viable option for farmers who want to promote plant health and soil fertility. The future of agricultural technology – including organic fertiliser technology and formulation – promises to look very different to what we have today.
Formulation – deciding what type of plant-based fertiliser blend to create for a crop and soil type – is one of the areas seeing the most advances in organic fertilisers. Innovations in fertiliser delivery systems, such as slow-releasing formulations and microbial inoculants, are helping farmers understand how to optimise nutrient uptake, thus making it unnecessary to apply excessive fertiliser and reducing nutrient losses. Customised fertiliser formulations that match different crop and soil types efficiently maximise yields and minimise environmental impact.
So too are precision agriculture techniques increasingly encouraging improvements in organic fertiliser application technology, such that they can now be applied with greater accuracy and efficiency. Using sensors and GPS-based equipment, plus drone observations, farmers can apply fertilisers precisely where they are needed, with optimal placement and timing, thereby avoiding unnecessary application to areas where it is not needed, maximising fertiliser usage, and also reducing the footprint of fertiliser on the environment.
In the years to come, biotechnology could facilitate the development of next-generation organic fertilisers and help to better utilise nutrients by making them more available to plants, regenerating soil life, or enhancing crop resilience to biotic and abiotic stressors. The research on bio-based fertilisers – composts, biochars, biostimulants, foliar fertilisers, microbe-based fertilisers, plant-based fertilisers, among others – is also deepening our knowledge about the interactions between soil microbes, plants and nutrients, ultimately enhancing fertiliser use efficiency to feed the planet sustainably.
Further ahead, regulatory and policy shifts are likely to encourage the use of organic fertiliser in Europe too. As governments put sustainability at the forefront of agricultural policies and use incentive programs, subsidies and regulatory frameworks to decrease society’s reliance on synthetic inputs, on-farm use of organic fertilisers will increase as one of several sustainability strategies.
Summing up, I believe that the future of organic fertiliser in Europe will continue to develop positively thanks to constant innovation and investment in new technologies, combined with new formulations and new ways of application that make organic fertilisers a very interesting tool for European farmers who want to follow new trends to cultivate healthier crops, strengthen and give value to the soil, while developing a more sustainable and resilient agricultural system for those who will come after us.
Conclusion：organic fertilizer for plants
To summarise, the path for the green growth that Europe so desperately needs – the path of truly sustainable agriculture – requires organic fertiliser to be part of every farming landscape. It is high time for Europe to revive and enhance the wide range of diverse, but mostly complementary, resources that organic fertilisers bring into farming systems: the nutrients they have naturally accumulated, their capacity to rebuild and fertilise the plot soil, and their proven potential to increase the microbial biodiversity of the soil.
But despite hurdles and hindrances, even within the European context, a journey towards more sustainable agriculture exists.With joint efforts and ingenuity, obstacles against organic fertilisers can be overcome, from both a nutrient and farmer point of view. This journey can be made with the help of precision agriculture, adapting biotechnological advancements, and leveraging policy changes related to subsidies and other incentives to make organic fertilisers more accessible, effective and appealing to European farmers.
Looking to the future, it is evident that organic fertilisers will occupy a central position into determining the ambitions of European agriculture, promoting the production of healthy and high-quality food while safeguarding the environment and the climate, and the conservation of biodiversity. Promoting soil health, resilience and resource efficiency can direct farmers towards the development of a greener, more sustainable and resource-efficient food system suited for the requirements of generations to come.
Alongside the most advanced technological advances, European farmers will increasingly rely on the broad benefits offered by organic fertilisers and protein crops. And the more they will improve our knowledge, achieve wide-scale dissemination of good practices, and stimulate an open dialogue among all partners of the agricultural supply chain, the more we will be able to harness the potential of organic fertiliser to shape a lush and prosperous future for the agricultural world in Europe.
Here are some references ：
- Lampkin, Nicolas. “Organic Farming.” Farming Press, Ipswich (1990).
- Ghimire, Rajan, et al. “Organic Amendments for Soil Health and Productivity.” Sustainable Agriculture Reviews 35 (2019): 137-183.
- Lemaire, Gilles, et al. “Nutrient Management in Temperate Agriculture: Considering Complexity in Crop Production Systems.” Crop Science 49, no. 2 (2009): 542-549.
