1-2-3 Fertiliser

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes 10 seconds

Fertiliser, are basically plant supplements. They fill plants up with all the nutrients they need to thrive, and sustain the population. While it's the most important invention of the 20th century it bears its problems.

Fertiliser isn't cheap. It makes up about for about 35% of corn and wheat producers budgets. Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine that prices have risen further.

1 Company

Pivot Bio

Pivot Bio's sells a microbe... Huh? These microbes take nitrogen from the air and create the stuff that plants need to grow and thrive. The microbes don't wash away in the rain (about half of normal fertiliser does), and have a healthier production process.

The modifications in the microbe speed up a naturally occurring process. Pivot Bio has taken tons of physical material and distilled it down to a fine powder. This creates a smaller carbon footprint and less logistics. And its estimated they will be able to serve a market worth over 200 billion dollars per year.

2 Facts

• Different plants need different fertilisers. Those proportions cause different reactions in the plants. If you're curious about the mechanics of this, read this super simple explanation.

• Fertiliser has doubled crop yields, which has allowed the human population to grow at the rate it has.

3 Articles

The Haber Bosch Process

The story of the Haber-Bosch, the most important innovation of the 21st century, is wild. It won the founding team a Nobel Prize. But, Fritz Haber, was also the man who pioneered the use of Chlorine Gas during World War 1. At what point do you separate the good from the bad? Does his net good outweigh his net bad? Up to you to decide. Here is a video (20 minutes) for the "visually oriented."

Fertiliser Crisis Will Contribute to Global Food Shortage

Because of high fertiliser prices, there could be food production declines of over 20%. The article also goes over . The image below shows the sudden increase in fertiliser price.

Is too much chemical fertiliser bad?

Nutrients are good for soil... until they're over applied. Then they become pollutants. Two-thirds of the nitrogen used on crops more than half of applied phosphorus runs off. Fertilisers need to be used in balance. Too little depletes the soil and too much pollutes the environment.

Thanks for reading! Fertiliser is one of the weird economies that powers the world. No one thinks about it, but it's the powerhouse behind the human population. Half the population wouldn't be able to exist without fertiliser. So next time you go to the hardware store, go thank the bag of stuff that keeps humanity running.