What is the Difference Between Nitrogen and Phosphorus Fertilizer

The key difference between nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer is that nitrogen fertilizer is made from ammonia, whereas phosphorous fertilizer is made from phosphate rock.

Fertilizers are materials of natural or synthetic origin and, when applied to soil or to plant tissues, can supply plant nutrients. We can identify them distinctly from liming materials and other non-nutrient soil amendments. There are different sources of fertilizers. In modern times, the three major macronutrients that are important for plants include nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, collectively named NPK. Occasionally, we need to add rock dust as a micronutrient as well. The application of the fertilizers can also differ from one to another, e.g. pelletized or liquid application, use of large agricultural equipment or hand-tool methods, etc.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Nitrogen Fertilizer
3. What is Phosphorus Fertilizer
4. Nitrogen vs Phosphorus Fertilizer in Tabular Form
5. Summary – Nitrogen vs Phosphorus Fertilizer 

What is Nitrogen Fertilizer?

Nitrogen fertilizer can be described as the major nitrogen input for grain crops other than grain legumes. We can make this type of fertilizer from ammonia. The process that we use for this production is the Haber-Bosch process. Typically, this process is an energy-intensive process where natural gas usually supplies hydrogen and nitrogen is derived from the air. We can use ammonia as feedstock for all types of nitrogen fertilizers, including anhydrous ammonium nitrate and urea.

Moreover, we can find deposits of sodium nitrate (a type of nitrogen fertilizer) in the Atacama desert in Chile. It is the only nitrogen-rich fertilizer present in early times. Nevertheless, people still mine these deposits for fertilizer. Moreover, we can also produce nitrates from ammonia through the Ostwald process.

What is Phosphorous Fertilizer?

Phosphorous fertilizer can be described as the major phosphorous input for crops in agricultural fields. We can easily obtain phosphorous fertilizer from the extraction of phosphate rock. There are two major components of phosphorous in this rock, which include fluorapatite and hydroxyapatite. These two minerals can convert into water-soluble phosphate salts through the treatment of the material in sulfuric acid or phosphoric acid.

The extraction of phosphorous fertilizers from phosphate rock is a major influence in the large-scale production of sulfuric acid annually. During the Odda process or the nitro-phosphate process, phosphate rock containing up to 20% phosphorous is dissolved in nitric acid for the production of a mixture of phosphoric acid and calcium nitrate. We can combine this mixture with a potassium fertilizer in order to produce a compound fertilizer having three macronutrients, including N, P, and K, into an easily dissolved form.

What is the Difference Between Nitrogen and Phosphorus Fertilizer?

Fertilizers are materials of natural or synthetic origin that, when applied to soil or to plant tissues, can supply plant nutrients. Nitrogen fertilizer is the major nitrogen input for grain crops other than grain legumes, while phosphorous fertilizer is the major phosphorous input for crops in agricultural fields. The key difference between nitrogen and phosphorous fertilizer is that nitrogen fertilizer is made from ammonia, whereas phosphorous fertilizer is made from phosphate rock.

The following table summarizes the difference between nitrogen and phosphorous fertilizer.

Summary – Nitrogen vs Phosphorus Fertilizer

Nitrogen fertilizer is the major nitrogen input for grain crops other than grain legumes. Phosphorous fertilizer is the major phosphorous input for crops in agricultural fields. The key difference between nitrogen and phosphorous fertilizer is that nitrogen fertilizer is made from ammonia, whereas phosphorous fertilizer is made from phosphate rock.

Reference:

1. “Nitrogen Fertilizers.” An Overview | ScienceDirect Topics.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Nitrogen fertilizer consumption, OWID” By Our World In Data – (CC BY 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Siilinjärvi Särkijärvi pit” By kallerna – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia