The "Father of Fertilizer"
The "Father of Fertilizer"
von Liebig
Justus von Liebig (1803-1873) is generally credited with being the
“Father of the Fertilizer Industry.” Although other scientists
contributed discoveries of equal importance, von Liebig built on their
work and formulated “The Mineral Theory” which states:
“The crops on a field diminish or increase in exact proportion to the
diminution or increase of the mineral substance conveyed to it in
manure.” (Manure in this sense is anything applied to the soil to serve
as plant nutrient.)
Liebig stressed the value of mineral elements derived from the soil in
plant nutrition and the necessity of replacing them to maintain soil
fertility. He recognized the value of nitrogen, but believed that plants
could get the element from the air. He envisioned a fertilizer industry
with nutrients such as phosphate, lime, magnesia and potash prepared in
chemical factories. He recommended treatment of bones with sulfuric
acid to render the phosphate more readily available.
Liebig also propounded the “Law of the Minimum,” which states that if
one of the nutritive elements is deficient or lacking, plant growth will
be poor even when all other elements are abundant. If the deficient
element is supplied, growth will be increased up to the point where the
supply of that element is no longer the limiting factor. Increasing the
supply beyond this point is not helpful, as some other element would
then be in minimum supply and becomes the limiting factor.
A concept of the “law of the minimum” is still being used in nutrient
management and crop production today. It has been modified as additional
elements have proved to be essential in plant nutrition and has been
extended to include other factors such as moisture, temperature, insect
control, weed control, light, plant population and genetic capacities of
plant varieties. In fact, modern advances of agriculture have consisted
mainly of identifying successive limiting factors and correcting them.
Thus, attainment of optimum yields involves a complex mix of nutrients
in combination with other inputs.
Add a comment