Hytcttitttrg^ Iltbfiral HrijS MpsetKnologg BULLETIN 385 SEPTEMBER, 1950 THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION Department of Agricultural and Biological Chemistry Inspection of Commercial Fertilizers Made for the STATE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE H. A. DAVIS, R. E. KRAMER, and M. A. BRUCE THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE DURHAM, N. H. INSPECTION OF COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS Made for the State Department of Agriculture The inspection of commercial fertilizers reported in this bulletin was made under the direction of the Honorable Perley I. Fitts, Commissioner of Agriculture. Mr. George H. Laramie, Fertilizer Control Supervisor, collected samples of 112 brands of mixed fertilizer and fertilizer materials which were offered for sale by dealers or had been delivered to consumers during the year ending June, 1950. The general character of the brands sampled is shown by the following classifica- tion: Complete fertilizer 63 Phosphoric acid and potash 13 Superphosphate 7 Nitrate of soda 2 Ammonium nitrate 2 Ammonium sulphate 2 Muriate of potash 6 Ground bone 4 Milorganite 1 Natural manui'es 9 Urea 2 Cyanamide 1 THE FERTILIZER LAW The chief purpose of the official inspection required by the fertilizer law is to protect the consumer against the misbranded products which doubtless would soon appear on the market if the sale of fertilizer was not under state regulation. The purchaser of fertilizer or fertilizer materials should acquaint himself with the full text of the law. He should not accept from the dealer any bag of fer- tilizer which is not tagged and guaranteed in compliance with the law. If he does so it is at his own risk. The law governing the guarantees and labeling of commercial fertilizers or fei'tilizer materials follows: "Every lot or parcel of commei-cial fertilizer or fertilizer material sold or offered or exposed for sale within this state shall be accompanied by a plainly printed statement, clearly and truly certifying the number of net pounds of fer- tilizer in the package; the name, brand or trademark under which the fertilizer is sold; the name and address of the manufacturer or importer; the location of the factory; and a chemical analysis stating the minimum percentage of nitrogen, of available prosphoric acid and of water-soluble potash expressed in whole numbers." "No fertilizer or fertilizer material containing the three essential fertilizing elements, nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash may be sold or offered for sale if the total minimum plant food nutrients contained therein is less than fourteen per cent by weight, provided however that natural animal and bird manures shall be excepted from the provisions of this section." Copies of the full text of the law may be obtained from the Fertilizer Control Supervisor, State House, Concord, N. H. Inquiries concerning the law and all matters relative to the registration of brands should be addressed to his office. The value of a fertilizer depends mainly upon its content of available plant food, particularly nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash. To correct certain soil conditions other plant nutrients are included in fertilizers for specific crops. Magnesium and boron are two so-called minor elements or plant foods furnished by some brands of fertilizers for specific cases. Whether or not a fertilizer contains the guaranteed amount of plant food can be determined only by a chemical analysis. For this reason it is considered necessary that each brand of fertilizer offered for sale be officially sampled and analyzed each year. When failure to meet the guarantee is proved by chemical analysis, the prosecution or seizure provisions of the law may be invoked. The purchaser's refusal to buy a fertilizer which does not conform to the law will not only assist in the enforce- ment of the law but will at the same time insure him the protection of the law. USE OF COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS It is not within the scope of this bulletin to make recommendations regard- ing the use of commercial fertilizers. The Department of Agronomy and the Department of Agricultural and Biological Chemistry of the University of New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station test soils and conduct experimental work with various fertilizer materials on hay and crop land. The Department of Horticulture investigates fertilizer treatments for fruits and vegetables. Much of this work has been published, and is available for free distribution to residents of New Hampshire. Address your request to Mail Service, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire. Fertilizer Experiments with Sweet Clover. 12 pp. Fertilizer Experiments with Hay Lands in the Connecticut Val- ley. 15 pp. Fertilizer Needs of Alfalfa on New Hampshii'e Soils. 12 pp. Effect of Soil Moisture and Fertilizer Placement on Vitality of the Potato Seed Piece. 11 pp. Sta. Cir. 61 Fertility Needs of Dairy Farm Crops in the Connecticut Valley. 12 pp. Fertilizers for Sweet Corn. 8 pp. The Response of Clover and Total Forage to Top-Dressing Fer- tilizers. 12 pp. Experiments with Grass Hay. 24 pp. Pasture Top-Dressing in New Hampshire. 24 pp. Experiment with Potatoes. 38 pp. Purchasing Fertilizers in New Hampshire. 31 pp. Asparagus Culture. 4 pp. Grape Growing in New Hampshire. 11 pp. Pui'chasing Lime and Fertilizer. 12 pp. Cabbage. 4 pp. Tomatoes for Good Health. 8 pp. Root Crops. 20 pp. The Home Vegetable Garden. 20 pp. Culture of Low-Bush Blueberries. 16 pp. Strawberi-y Culture. 4 pp. Forage Production and Grain Saving. 8 pp. Cane Fiuit Culture. 8 pp. Potato Growing in New Hampshire. 32 pp. Home Fruit Growing in New Hampshire. 16 pp. Sta. Cir. 47 Sta. Cir. 50 Sta. Cir. 58 Sta. Cir. 59 Sta. Cir. 63 Sta. Cir. 74 Sta. Bull. 306 Sta. Bull. 320 Sta. Bull. 324 Sta. Bull. 362 Ext. Cir. 99 Ext. Cir. 173 Ext. Cir. 210 Ext. Cir. 212 Ext. Cir. 260 Ext. Cir. 266 Ext. Cir. 273 Ext. Cir. 275 Ext. Cir. 279 Ext. Cir. 287 Ext. Cir. 289 Ext. Bull. 45 Ext. Bull. , 65 While the word fertilizer does not appear in all the above titles, no publica- tion is included which does not discuss the use of fertilizer. SUGGESTED FERTILIZERS FOR NEW HAMPSHIRE The following table was developed by the members of the Department of Agronomy and is included in this bulletin with their permission. Medium Lbs. per High Lbs. per Crop Analysis Acre Analysis Acre Grass Seedings* 5-10-10 -4-12-16 600- 800 400- 500 8-16-16 400-500 Top-Dressing Legumes 0-14-14 600- 800 0-20-20 400-600 Top-Dressing Legumes and Grasses 5-10-10 700- 800 8-16-16 400-500 Top-Dressing Grasses 7- 7- 7 600- 800 10-10-10 400-600 Corn for Grain or Silage 5-10-10 *4-12- 4 *4-12- 8 1000-1200 400- 600 400- 600 8-16-16 600-800 Millet or Sudan 7- 7- 7 600- 800 10-10-10 400-500 Permanent Pasture 0-14-141 500- 700 0-20-20 300-500 5-10-102 500- 600 8-16-16 300-500 Potatoes 5-10-10 2500 8-16-16 1600 4-12-12 2400 5-15-15 2000 Vegetables and 5-10-10 2000 8-16-16 1250 Home Gardens 5- 8- 7 5-10- 5 *4-12- 4 2000 2000 1000 Fruit Trees3 1/4 lb. of common nitrogen carrier for each year of age of tri ee, up to 10 lbs., or V2 that amount of am- monium 1 nitrate. '•'In addition to manure. 1. Safe application on soil suited for clover. 2. To be used where grazing can be controlled. 3. Boron in form of borax on fruit trees, V2 lb. per tree every three years. 4. 30-35 lbs. of borax per acre prior to seeding alfalfa is advisable. A. The above recommendations are designed for a guide for use of commercial fertilizers only. B. Use all the manure every year. IT IS A VALUABLE FERTILIZER. C. Fortify manure with superphosphate at the rate of at least 1 lb. per animal per day. D. Hen manure should be used at one-half the rate of cow manure. E. Manure weighs approximately 45 lbs. per cubic foot. CONFORMITY TO GUARANTEE The chemical analyses reported in this bulletin were made by the methods adopted by the Association of Official Ag-ricultural Chemists. Number of brands analyzed 112 Equalling or exceeding all guarantees 65 Deficient in nitrogen only 19 Deficient in available phosphoric acid only 5 Deficient in potash only 3 Deficient in nitrogen and phosphoric acid 7 Deficient in nitrogen and potash 6 Deficient in phosphoric acid and potash 3 Deficient in nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash 4 Five brands w^ere guaranteed to contain magnesium oxide. None failed to meet the guarantee. In general, the overrun in plant food guarantees exceeds the deficiencies w^hen all brands of a manufacturer are included. Fertilizers are largely mixtures of highly purified chemicals. Segregation of these materials in the bag may be expected. To obtain a truly representative sample of a fertilizer mixture requires careful work. The chemist can accurately determine the nitrogen, phophoric acid, and potash content of the sample sent to the laboratory. If this sample does not correctly represent the larger lot, the analytical work is of no use. The obligation of the fertilizer control program is to see that the manufacturer is supplying the guaranteed amount of plant food to the consumer. For this reason the sample must be drawn and analyzed very carefully so that injustice will not be done to either the consumer or manufacturer. In the tabulation of the analyses in the following pages deficiencies of one- half per cent or more are shown in red type. The names of the manufacturers are arranged alphabetically. The brand names are listed alphabetically, or nu- merically by formula, under the manufacturer. .2 a, C X MO m 'A O o CO o > < o c a; be o puno^ paajuBJBriQ punoj[ paa^uejenQ punoj paa^uBjBni) punoj p33:)UBjBng puno^ paa^uBaBnj) 0) • <£> • eg 00 «o Tf Tji eg to . l-H • t- -^ 1-1 O O lO i-H egOTj< ■ csoocg • oo oooeg CgOOrH eg -eg • Coo tH tH C-' "d eg iH oeg 5DOC-10 o CO o«Deo <0«0 r-l ooos . 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