Description
Smart Agricultural Irrigation with SeaQuest
Orthophosphates are especially important among the various phosphates because of their key roles in biochemistry, biogeochemistry, and ecology, and their economic importance for agriculture and industry. Adequate nutrition with phosphorus improves the physiology of the plant in relation to the processes of photosynthesis, nitrogen fixation, flowering, and fruiting. Similarly, the growth of lateral roots is favored by phosphorus nutrition. Phosphorus is the second nutrient in importance, given the frequency with which its deficiency occurs in the soil. This deficiency is very associated with the low mobility of phosphorus in the soil as it is highly fixed or precipitated by the minerals that compose it. It is mentioned that 10 to 15% of phosphorus is removed by the harvest in the year of application.
Availability depends on pH (higher availability at 6.5) and the presence of certain minerals, becoming affected by temperature, humidity, and aeration. The visual symptoms of P deficiency that appear on the leaves of some crops are the development of purple bands on the edges of these. In other crops, a dull dark green discoloration can be presented in the leaves, which later go turning a reddish or purple color. There are two large groups of phosphate fertilizers, organic and inorganic. These inorganic fertilizers are derived from phosphate rock. On the other hand, organic fertilizers are made of organic waste that contains phosphorus (organic waste, compost, animal manure, among others).
Fertilizers can also be classified into soluble (quick release of phosphorus ) and insoluble fertilizers (slow release of phosphorus ). The insoluble phosphate fertilizers will be available to the plant over time, while the soluble ones are immediately available to be absorbed by the plant. The soluble phosphate fertilizers are the most widely used worldwide, since the nutrients they are ready so that the plant can absorb them instantly; however, they have a high cost, which is constantly increasing, due to the use of fossil fuels for its production and transport.