Ammonium nitrate: fertilizer composition, application in the country, in the garden, in gardening

The use of ammonium nitrate is an urgent need in summer cottages and large fields. Nitrogen top dressing is essential for any crops and contributes to their rapid growth.

What is “ammonium nitrate”

Ammonium nitrate is an agrochemical fertilizer widely used in vegetable gardens and orchards. The main active substance in its composition is nitrogen, it is responsible for the development of the green mass of plants.

What does ammonium nitrate look like?

The fertilizer is a small white granules. The structure of saltpeter is very solid, but it dissolves well in water.

Ammonium nitrate is white and very hard

Types of ammonium nitrate

In gardening stores, ammonium nitrate is presented in several varieties:

• ordinary, or universal;
  
  

  Common saltpeter is most often used in the garden

• potash;
  
  

  Ammonium nitrate with the addition of potassium is useful in the formation of fruits

• Norwegian, the use of lime-ammonium nitrate is especially convenient on acidic soil;
  
  

  Calcium is present in the lime-ammonia fertilizer

• magnesium – especially recommended for legumes;
  
  

  Magnesium nitrate is advised to be added to soils poor in this substance.

• Chilean – with the addition of sodium.
  
  

  Sodium nitrate alkalizes the soil

If any of the garden crops needs several substances at once, then the gardener can use ammonium nitrate with additives, rather than apply top dressing separately.

The composition of ammonium nitrate as a fertilizer

Ammonium nitrate fertilizer consists of three main components:

• nitrogen, it takes an average of 26 to 34% in the composition;
• sulfur, it accounts for from 2 to 14%;
• ammonia.

The formula of a chemical compound is as follows – NH4NO3.

What is another name for ammonium nitrate?

Sometimes fertilizer can be found under other names. The main one is ammonium nitrate, and “ammonium nitrate” or “ammonium salt of nitric acid” can also be written on the package. In all cases, we are talking about the same substance.

Properties of ammonium nitrate

Agricultural fertilizer has many valuable properties. Namely:

• enriches the soil with nitrogen, which is especially well absorbed by plants in combination with sulfur;
• begins to act immediately after application – the decomposition of saltpeter in the soil and the release of nutrients occurs instantly;
• affects the health of crops in bad weather conditions and on any soil, even in extreme cold.

An interesting feature is that the use of ammonium nitrate in the country almost does not acidify the soil. When using ammonium nitrate on neutral soils, you don’t have to worry about pH balance.

The effect of ammonium nitrate on soil and plants

Ammonium nitrate is one of the main fertilizers in agriculture, it is necessary for any crops, and on an annual basis. Ammonium nitrate is needed for:

• enrichment of poor soil with useful substances, this is especially important in spring, when plants start growing;
• improving the processes of photosynthesis of horticultural and horticultural crops;
• accelerating the development of green mass in plants;
• increase yields, up to 45% with proper application;
• strengthening the immunity of agricultural crops.

Ammonium nitrate protects plants from fungi by increasing their hardiness.

Ammonium nitrate enriches the soil on the site and accelerates the growth of crops

What is ammonium nitrate used for in agriculture

In the garden and in the fields, ammonium nitrate is used:

• to improve the nutritional value of the soil in the spring;
• to accelerate the growth of crops in regions with difficult climatic conditions;
• to increase the yield and quality of fruits, saltpeter makes vegetables and fruits more juicy and tasty;
• for the prevention of fungal diseases, with timely processing, plants are less likely to suffer from wilting and rot.

The introduction of ammonium nitrate in the spring is of particular importance if garden crops grow in the same place year after year. The lack of a normal crop rotation greatly depletes the soil.

Ways to use ammonium nitrate

In the garden and in the garden, ammonium nitrate is used in two ways:

• wet, when watering;
  
  

  When feeding developing plants, saltpeter is diluted in water

• dry, if we are talking about preparing the beds, then the fertilizer is allowed to fall asleep in granular form and properly mixed with the ground.
  
  

  Before planting, ammonium nitrate can be incorporated directly into the soil in a dry form.

But pouring fertilizer on the beds with already developing plants is not recommended. Nitrogen will enter the soil unevenly and will most likely cause root burns.

When and how to apply ammonium nitrate to the soil for top dressing

Agricultural crops have different needs for nitrogenous substances. Therefore, the timing and rate of application of ammonium nitrate depend on which plantings need to be fed.

vegetable crops

Most vegetable plants require a double feeding, before the appearance of flowers and after fruit set. The average fertilizer consumption is from 10 to 30 g per meter of soil.

Cabbage

Saltpeter is closed up during planting, a small spoonful of fertilizer is added to the hole and sprinkled with soil on top. Later, once every 10 days, the beds are watered with a nitrogenous solution; to prepare it, a large spoonful of ammonium nitrate is diluted in half a bucket of water.

Top dressing of cabbage with saltpeter is carried out before the formation of heads

beans

Before planting the crop on the beds, it is necessary to plant ammonium nitrate in the soil – 30 g per meter. In the process of further growth, bean nitrogen is no longer required; special bacteria that develop on its roots already take the necessary substance from the air.

Legumes need little nitrogen – saltpeter is applied only before planting

Corn

It is necessary to close dry fertilizer into the soil when planting a crop; a large spoonful of granules is added to each well. Subsequently, 2-year top dressing is carried out – when the fifth leaf is formed and at the moment when the cobs begin to develop. Saltpeter for corn should be diluted in water in an amount of about 500 g per bucket of water.

Corn can be fed with ammonium nitrate before planting and twice more during growth.

Tomatoes and cucumbers

For cucumbers, it is necessary to add saltpeter twice – 2 weeks after planting in the ground and the appearance of flowers. In the first case, only 10 g of the substance is diluted in a bucket of water, in the second, the dosage is tripled.

For cucumbers, saltpeter is applied twice before flowering.

Tomatoes are fed three times even before planting – at the seedling stage. For the first time, fertilizer is applied after picking the seedlings (8 g per bucket), then another week later (15 g) and a couple of days before being transferred to the ground (10 g). When growing in a garden bed or in a greenhouse, it is no longer necessary to add nitrogen, unless there is a pronounced deficiency.

Tomatoes need to be fed with saltpeter 3 times at the seedling stage

Luke

It is customary to fertilize onions with ammonium nitrate 3 times in spring-summer. Namely:

• when planting – add 7 g of dry matter to the garden;
• 2 weeks after the transfer of the culture to the soil – 30 g of fertilizer is diluted in a bucket;
• after another 20 days – the beds with onions are watered with a solution prepared in the same concentration as the second time.

For onions, ammonium nitrate is applied at planting and twice more with an interval of 2-3 weeks.

Garlic

Garlic does not have a strong need for nitrogen, so it is enough to put 12 g of fertilizer per meter into the soil before planting.

Spring garlic is not overfed with nitrogen, you need to add saltpeter only when planting

If we are talking about a vegetable planted before winter, then with the onset of spring heat, you can irrigate with a solution of ammonium nitrate – 6 g of fertilizer is stirred in a bucket of water. After another month, top dressing is allowed to be repeated.

potato

The use of ammonium nitrate fertilizer in the garden is highly recommended for potato plantings. Before planting the tubers, it is advisable to sprinkle 20 g of saltpeter for each meter of the garden.

For potatoes, ammonium nitrate is very important, it is not only responsible for growth, but also protects against wireworm

In the process of growth, potatoes can be fed again before the first hilling. In this case, 20 g of a nitrogenous substance is added to the bucket for irrigation.

Garden flowers and ornamental shrubs

Garden flowers respond positively to fertilizing with ammonium nitrate. Their decorative effect from this increases, the buds become larger and bloom more abundantly.

It is customary to apply fertilizer in early spring during the period of active snowmelt, the granules can be poured into flower beds in a dry form, melt water will contribute to their rapid dissolution. It is enough to add a large spoonful of granules per meter of soil. The second top dressing is carried out during growth in the middle of spring – 2 large spoons of the substance are diluted in water and the flowers are watered under the root. Similarly, ornamental shrubs are fertilized with ammonium nitrate.

In spring, any garden flowers respond well to ammonium nitrate.

Fruit and berry crops

Pears, apple trees, plums, as well as currants, gooseberries, raspberries and other fruit and berry plants need triple fertilizer. For the first time, it is possible to scatter granules under bushes and trunks even before the snow melts, the norm is 15 g per meter.

It is necessary to feed berry crops and shrubs with saltpeter before pouring fruits.

Further, the use of ammonium nitrate in horticulture is carried out at intervals of 20 days before the formation of berries. Use a liquid solution, 30 g of substance per bucket. When the fruits begin to ripen on the shoots, the rate for the last application can be raised to 50 g of saltpeter.

strawberries

It is possible to introduce ammonium nitrate for strawberries into the soil only in the second year after planting. Shallow grooves are dug between the rows of culture, dry granules of 10 g per meter are scattered in them, and then covered with earth.

Strawberries are fertilized with ammonium nitrate in the second year

In the third year, the volume of the substance can be increased to 15 g. Fertilizing is carried out in the spring, during the growth of the leaves, and after harvesting.

Pasture grasses and cereals

Ammonium nitrate is necessarily used in the fields when growing cereals and perennial forage grasses:

1. For wheat, saltpeter is usually used twice during the season. When cultivating the soil, 100 kg of dry granules are poured per 2 square meters, while top dressing during the grain filling period – 1 kg per similar area.
   
   

   For wheat, ammonium nitrate is used in the spring and before filling the grains.

2. In oats, the need for nitrogen fertilizers is slightly lower; for top dressing, about 900 g of dry matter are added to the “hundredths”, and during spring digging, the norm is taken twice as much.
   
   

   Oats saltpeter is required mainly in the spring when digging the soil

As for pasture grasses, most of them belong to the category of legumes with a reduced need for nitrogen. Therefore, the dosage of saltpeter is reduced to 600 g of the substance per “weave” and the application is carried out in the process of preparing the soil. You can feed the grass again after the first mowing.

Indoor plants and flowers

It is allowed to feed indoor flowers with ammonium nitrate, but this is not always necessary. For example, succulents usually do not need nitrogen fertilizers. But for ferns, palm trees and other crops, the attractiveness of which lies precisely in the foliage, ammonium nitrate is in demand. It is diluted in the amount of 2 large spoons per 10 l container, after which it is used for irrigation, usually in the spring, during the period of active development.

Ammonium nitrate may be useful for flowering plants – for example, for orchids:

1. It is used if the culture has lingered in the dormant stage and does not develop, and also begins to turn yellow from the lower leaves.
2. To push the orchid to grow, dilute 2 g of ammonium nitrate in a liter of water, and then lower the pot into the solution to half for 10 minutes.
3. Liquid fertilizer soaks the soil abundantly, after the expiration of the period it is important to ensure that the excess is completely drained through the drainage holes.

For orchids, ammonium nitrate is needed only with poor growth.

The use of ammonium nitrate depending on the type of soil

The timing and application rates depend not only on the requirements of plants, but also on the type of soil:

1. If the soil is light, then ammonium nitrate can be patched up right before sowing, and it is recommended to fertilize heavy and moist soils in autumn or early spring.
2. For depleted soils that are not rich in minerals, 30 g of ammonium nitrate per meter should be used. If the site is cultivated, regularly fertilized, then 20 g is enough.

The use of ammonium nitrate from weeds

When applied in excess, the nitrogenous substance burns the roots of plants and stops their growth. This property of ammonium nitrate is used to control weeds.

Weeds in the area can be burned out with ammonium nitrate

If the garden needs to be cleaned before planting useful crops, then it is enough to dissolve 3 g of ammonium nitrate in a bucket and generously spray the overgrown grass on top. As a result of processing, weeds will die and will not start new growth for a long time.

Does ammonium nitrate help with wireworm

For potatoes in the garden, the wireworm is of particular danger; it gnaws numerous passages in the tubers. You can get rid of the pest with the help of saltpeter, the worms do not tolerate nitrogen and, when its level rises, they go deeper into the ground.

The wireworm reacts poorly to ammonium nitrate, it goes into the ground below the roots and tubers

To get rid of the wireworm, even before planting potatoes, dry ammonium nitrate can be planted in the holes, 25 g per meter. When a pest appears in the summer, it is allowed to shed plantings with a solution of 30 g per 1 liter.

What is harmful ammonium nitrate

Agricultural fertilizer is good for plants, but it can negatively affect the nutritional value of vegetables and fruits. Fruits accumulate in themselves salts of nitric acid, or nitrates, dangerous to humans.

For this reason, in principle, gourds and greens are not recommended to be fed with ammonium nitrate, nitrogen is retained in them especially strongly. Also, ammonium nitrate should not be applied to the soil when the fruits ripen, the last treatment is carried out 2 weeks before the start of the harvest season.

Storage Rules

Ammonium nitrate belongs to the category of explosive substances. It must be stored in a dry, well-ventilated place, protected from light, at a temperature not exceeding 30 °C. Categorically it is impossible to leave granules under direct beams of the sun.

Keep ammonium nitrate away from light and heat.

When closed, ammonium nitrate can be stored for 3 years. But the opened package must be used within 3 weeks, nitrogen is a volatile substance and quickly loses its beneficial properties when in contact with air.

Conclusion

The use of ammonium nitrate is indicated for most garden and horticultural crops. But an excess of nitrogen can be harmful to plants and reduce the quality of fruits, so you must follow the rules of processing.