Organic vs Inorganic Fertilizer, Check Out the Strengths and Weaknesses Here

There are quite a lot of fertilizers on the market today, consisting of various types, shapes, and varieties. If distinguished from the raw materials, fertilizers can be classified into two types, namely organic fertilizers and inorganic fertilizers.

Organic fertilizers are fertilizers made from plants or animals, which have gone through a process of engineering and decay. Has a solid or liquid form, to be used as a supplier of organic matter that plays an important role in improving the chemical, biological, and physical properties of the soil. This compost fertilizer is almost 100% free from harmful chemicals because the basic ingredients for making it are natural.

Meanwhile, inorganic fertilizers are fertilizers that are made or consist of active chemicals. The result of the process of mixing, manufacturing, and chemical engineering. But still through the process of chemical engineering, physical, to biological. This Inorganic Fertilizer, is produced by many factories and widely circulated in the market. In addition, this fertilizer is preferred by farmers, because it is more efficient and practical to use.

Organic fertilizer

Organic fertilizers are fertilizers obtained from weathering and decomposition of organic materials that exist in nature, for example, manure, compost, and green manure. Based on its properties, it is classified as a slow-release fertilizer, namely a fertilizer whose release rate is rather slow.

The advantages of organic fertilizers 

1. To improve soil structure, organic fertilizers make the soil structure crumbly and loose. 
2. Increasing the absorption of soil to water causes it not easy to lose water, especially in the dry season. 
3. Contains complete nutrients, although the levels are not as much as inorganic fertilizers. 
4. Increase the activity of soil microorganisms, soil microorganisms help break down organic matter into compounds or elements that can be directly absorbed by plants. For example, converting fruit waste into Nitrate (NO3) or Diphosphorus pentaoxide (P2O5)

Disadvantages of organic fertilizers

1. From the nutritional level, it is difficult to determine the nutrient content, even though the sampling test is still not known for certain and precisely elemental content. 
2. The levels are not as high as inorganic fertilizers. The level of solubility, and the constituent materials are not simple elements that can be absorbed directly by plants. 
3. The rate of release of nutrients, and the decomposition process takes a long time, so its performance is rather slow compared to inorganic fertilizers. 
4. The effectiveness of absorption, from the same weight for example 100 kg of NPK fertilizer, nutrients N, P, K that can be absorbed by plants in inorganic fertilizers is 64% of the weight of fertilizer, while in organic fertilizers is only 1%.

Inorganic Fertilizer 

Inorganic fertilizer is a term for fertilizer made in fertilizer factories, by taking (mining) mineral materials such as sodium nitrate from nature, then processed and processed to be packaged in certain nutrient levels. Examples, Urea, ZA, SP36 fertilizers, and others. Inorganic fertilizers are composed of chemical elements and compounds that are easily dissolved and ready to be absorbed by plants without requiring a decomposition process. Therefore, inorganic fertilizers besides being called artificial fertilizers are also known as chemical fertilizers.

The advantages of Inorganic fertilizers 

1. From the nutritional level, if it is difficult to determine the nutrient content of organic fertilizers, inorganic or chemical fertilizers, the nutrient dosage is right because it has been previously calculated at the factory. 
2. The need is not as much as organic fertilizer so it is easy to move, and of course cost-effective. For example, chili plants for an area of one hectare require 100 kg of za fertilizer, but the manure ranges from 15-20 tons. 
3. The level of solubility, and the constituent materials are simple elements so that they can be easily absorbed directly by plants. 
4. The rate of release of nutrients, from the same weight, the reaction is faster causing the absorption to be faster and more effective than organic fertilizers.

Disadvantages of Inorganic fertilizers

1. The application of chemical fertilizers will be effective if the dose is appropriate, the application of inorganic or chemical fertilizers if excessive will make the soil acidic. 
2. This is because mineral fertilizers that are not absorbed by plants when reacting with water (H2O) in the soil will form acidic compounds. 
3. In addition to increasing soil acidity, the use of chemical fertilizers for a long time if not balanced with the use of organic fertilizers will have a negative impact, including the death of microorganisms in the soil that function as decomposers of organic compounds. 
4. The nutrient content is not as complete as organic fertilizers, inorganic fertilizers generally only contain macro fertilizers (N, P, K). Inorganic fertilizers are expensive and sometimes scarce.

So, those are the differences between organic and inorganic fertilizers that you can know. I hope it will be useful for your knowledge...