Fertigation

What Does Fertigation Mean?

Fertigation, as the name implies, is a process that combines fertilization and irrigation by injecting soil amendments, fertilizers, and other water-soluble products into an irrigation system. This method is especially common in horticulture and extensive agriculture. It is also used for landscaping due to the increasing reliability and simplicity of the dispenser unit. Fertigation systems add the correct amount of fertilizer according to the plants’ nutrient deficiencies.

This process reduces soil erosion, minimizes the risk of the roots contracting soil-borne diseases, reduces water consumption, reduces the amount of fertilizer used, increases the nutrients absorbed by the plants, and controls the precise time and rate of fertilizers being released.

Maximum Yield Explains Fertigation

Some of the most commonly used nutrients in fertigation are ammonium nitrate, urea, ammonia, monoammonium phosphate, diammonium phosphate, and potassium chloride. Liquid and water-soluble fertilizers are required for fertigation.

There are two main types of fertigation approaches:

1. The proportional approach is used in soil-less mediums where a precise quantity of fertilizer stock solution is injected into each unit of water flowing through the irrigation system.
2. The quantitative approach is used in open fields where the horticulturalist first decides how much fertilizer should be applied per unit area.