Knowra Nitrogen fertilizer Nitrogen fertilizer Nitrogen fertilizer supplies plants with nitrogen in absorbable forms, including ammonium, nitrate, and urea. It supports the synthesis of proteins, nucleic acids, and chlorophyll.
Nitrogen cycle : The movement of nitrogen among the atmosphere, organisms, soils, and waters through biological and chemical transformations. Soil transformations in the nitrogen cycle determine which fertilizer forms plants can absorb.
Urea : An organic nitrogen compound, CO(NH₂)₂, widely used as a concentrated solid fertilizer. Its high nitrogen content makes urea a common fertilizer, though it can volatilize.
Green Revolution : The mid-20th-century rise in agricultural production associated with high-yield crops, irrigation, and expanded use of inputs. Expanded synthetic nitrogen use helped raise yields during this transformation.
Biological nitrogen fixation : The conversion of atmospheric nitrogen gas into biologically usable compounds by certain microbes. It supplies nitrogen through microbial activity rather than manufactured fertilizer.
Nitrification : The microbial oxidation of ammonia or ammonium to nitrite and then nitrate. Soil microbes convert ammonium fertilizer into mobile nitrate.
Ammonium nitrate : A nitrogen fertilizer containing both ammonium and nitrate ions. It supplies nitrogen in two forms with different soil behavior.
Haber–Bosch process : An industrial process that synthesizes ammonia from nitrogen and hydrogen under high temperature and pressure. It made large-scale production of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer possible.
Legume : A plant in the family Fabaceae, many members of which host nitrogen-fixing bacteria in root nodules. Legumes can add biologically fixed nitrogen to crop systems.
Urea hydrolysis : The enzyme-driven conversion of urea into ammonia and carbon dioxide, with subsequent changes in soil pH and nitrogen form. Urea must hydrolyze before its nitrogen becomes available as ammonium.
Anhydrous ammonia : Ammonia gas compressed into liquid form for injection into agricultural soil as nitrogen fertilizer. It is a concentrated fertilizer that must be placed in soil to limit losses.
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