Just as food is to man, so is nutrients to plants!
Macro-nutrients are required by plants in large quantities and this can be present in soil or induced by man.
Nitrogen (being a macro-element) plays several roles which include;
Formation of vitamins
Takes part in cell division
Formation of chlorophyll
Formation of proteins
Formation of plant enzymes
Formation of DNA and RNA
Increase seed and fruit production
Regulates availability of phosphorous and potassium
Aids in carbohydrate utilization.
It is therefore important to use elements made up of Nitrogen in order to successfully gain profits from a harvest.
Whenever plants lack Nitrogen or when the nitrogen levels are low, some symptoms will self-present in plants.
Some deficiency symptoms include;
Premature leaf fall
Old leaves dry up
Fewer tillers in grain crops
There are two way to fix nitrogen in the soil, that is; organic or non-organic.
Correcting nitrogen deficiency using organic methods requires time, but will result in a more even distribution of the added nitrogen over time.
Some organic methods of adding nitrogen to the soil include:
Adding composted manure to the soil
Planting a green manure crop
Planting nitrogen fixing plants like peas or beans
Adding coffee grounds to the soil
Nitrogen as a plant fertilizer is common when purchasing chemical fertilizers. When looking to specifically add nitrogen to your garden, choose a fertilizer that has a high first number in the NPK ratio. The NPK ratio will look something like 10-10-10 and the first number tells you the amount of nitrogen. Using a nitrogen fertilizer to fix a nitrogen deficiency in the soil will give a big, fast boost of nitrogen to the soil, but will fade quickly.