With the first day of spring coming up this weekend and the weather finally warming up seeding time is just around the corner. You are probably looking and cringing at the price for fertilizers right now, considering it has nearly doubled since last season (1). You are probably asking yourself “why do I even need to use fertilizer?” and “why are the prices so high?”. In this week’s edition of Growing Possibilities, we will be taking a closer look at the importance of fertilizer, why fertilizer prices are rising, and how to get the most out of your fertilizer.
With prices so high for fertilizer you may be wondering if it’s worth the effort. Phosphate fertilizers are important because they are a significant source of the phosphorus (P) that the plant needs to grow. Phosphorus is required by plants for many vital functions, including photosynthesis and respiration. Phosphate is crucial for cell division and the development of new tissue, making it even more critical in early plant development. Studies have shown that early season deficiencies have a greater impact on yield than deficiencies later in the season (2). Learn more about P and crop productivity from our previous post here.
So why has the fertilizer price been going up so much lately? The short answer is input prices are rising. The costs of the inputs in fertilizers have gone up significantly, particularly diammonium phosphate (DAP) which has nearly doubled in price (3), which increases the cost to produce phosphate fertilizers. Additionally, the cost of natural gas has gone up a lot over the past year, contributing to the rise of the fertilizer cost of production. And of course, one can’t help but notice the sky-rocketing prices of gasoline right now, as we are over 50% more expensive than this time last year. This is escalating the cost of transportation of products. However, what is having an even larger impact on the prices is the supply and demand of the products.
Furthermore, changes in supply and demand have also had a large impact on the price of fertilizer. Many of you have probably noticed the increase of crop prices, like corn, soybeans, and wheat in the past year. This has increased the number of farmers looking to grow these crops, and as these crops, particularly corn, often need more fertilizer, this has increased the demand for fertilizer. Many farmers often apply more fertilizer than necessary for these crops (1) in fear of profit or yield loss. And finally, the supply of fertilizers has been greatly impacted by many things, as we are still experiencing some of the effects of the supply chain disruptions that have occurred due to COVID-19. As well as some complications with imports due to sanctions being put on exports and some countries limiting what their producers are allowed to export.
So, given all of that, is there a way to increase fertilizer efficiency and potentially lower the amount of fertilizer to be added to the soil this spring? There are several factors that affect the availability of P in the soil. A major factor, especially in the Canadian prairies, is soil temperature. Low soil temperatures reduce P solubility (4). This and other environmental factors can be counteracted somewhat, by banding phosphate fertilizer, so that it is close to the seed, aiding in early root development (5). Additionally, biologicals which contain P solubilizing bacteria like XiteBio® Yield+ and XiteBio® OptiPlus® help to increase P availability either from your fixed soil P or from your fertilizer, which in turn improves your crop productivity throughout the growing season resulting in greater yield.
References
- https://s.giannini.ucop.edu/uploads/pub/2022/02/24/v25n3_1.pdf
- https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/abs/10.4141/P00-093
- https://usda.library.cornell.edu/concern/publications/w37636771
- http://www.ipni.net/publication/bettercrops.nsf/0/1F9B62B3360D8501852579800081F95E/$FILE/Better%20Crops%202001-2%20p18.pdf
- https://www.tfi.org/sites/default/files/tfi-phosphorus.pdf