ABSTRACT
The quality of man’s life is directly dependent upon that thin layer of the earth’s crust we refer to as “soil”. The soil supports our food and fiber production, and thus the welfare of world’s inhabitants. Our management of the soil determines its productivity over the long term. Management has many facets including ensuring an adequate supply of plant nutrients for use by growing plants. What we know as plant nutrients comprises of 16 chemical elements that are generally found in the soil, but their supply can be depleted with year-after-year of growing crops. Also, some nutrients are lost by natural processes. Farmers, ranchers and generally growers use chemical fertilizers to supplement depleted nutrients for optimum crop production.
