Identity card
Fertilizers have been used for a very long time and they were initially natural. They help replace the nutritive elements (potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, nitrogen, sulphur, etc.) that plants draw from the soil to feed themselves. The fertility of the land is maintained by their action, allowing for a qualitative, quantitative and sustainable yield. Chemical fertilizers first appeared in the 19th century, along with the boom in agriculture and the development of intensive farming.
They are divided into three main categories:
- mineral fertilizers composed of base elements like nitrogen, phosphates and/or potassium (NPK trio);
- organic fertilizers from animals (manures, dried blood, roasted, crushed horn, etc.) or plants (seaweed, nettle slurry, compost, etc.);
- organic-mineral fertilizers containing both organic matter and minerals.
Marketed in different forms (lozenges, small pills, powders, liquids, substrates, etc.), their properties correspond to the plants' various needs.
Production and use
Backed by strong growth in farming and dominated by nitrogen, worldwide use of fertilizers has risen 40% in thirty years. Well below China, India and the USA, France ranks in the European average.
In 2010-2011, fertilizer deliveries totalled 9.7 million tons (French production and imports, up by 18% in relation to 2009). This dynamism should continue over the next campaign as world demand is rising.(sources: UNIFA, GCL Développement Durable)
At Rungis Market
"We sell 10 tons of fertilizer a year to horticulturists, nurseries and landscaping and maintenance companies. Our sales run from January to June, with slow-release fertilizers, then soluble fertilizers with instant effects, and continue from June to September with chrysanthemum vegetation," explains Mr Bernard Crépeaux, manager of Ets Puteaux at Rungis. "The right balance changes depending on each plant's requirements and the desired end-result (flowering, fructification, development). Some products currently benefit from highly technical features."
Séverine Littière
