Agromer Insights: Fertilizers, Commodities & Energy

Humic acid is not a fertilizer in the usual sense: it is a soil conditioner made from decomposed organic matter. It supplies little nitrogen, phosphate or potash on its own. Growers use it to help soils hold nutrients and water and to improve how crops respond to the fertilizer they already apply. What humic and

Granular sulfur is mainly used to make sulphuric acid, the most produced industrial chemical in the world. Most of that acid goes into phosphate fertilizers, and a growing share into extracting copper, cobalt and nickel from ore. Smaller amounts of granular sulphur are used directly as a fertilizer, in rubber and chemicals, and in agriculture.

Nano fertilizers are one of the most discussed developments in modern agriculture. As farmers and agricultural companies look for ways to improve nutrient efficiency, reduce waste, and support more sustainable crop production, nanotechnology is creating new possibilities in fertilizer development. But what exactly are nano fertilizers, and how are they different from conventional fertilizers? In

Soil pH controls how much of the fertilizer you apply the crop can actually use. Most nutrients are easiest for plants to take up when the soil pH is between about 6 and 7. On strongly acid soils, phosphorus gets locked up and aluminium becomes toxic. On alkaline soils, phosphorus, iron, zinc and boron become

TSP (triple superphosphate) and SSP (single superphosphate) are phosphate fertilizers that supply phosphorus without nitrogen. TSP is concentrated, at about 46% P2O5. SSP is weaker, at about 16 to 20% P2O5, but it also carries sulphur and calcium. Both are made by treating phosphate rock with acid. TSP and SSP at a glance TSP SSP

Granular sulphur is priced per metric tonne, and the price depends mostly on where it loads, where it goes and when. In 2024, average export customs values ranged from about $64 per tonne for Kazakh sulphur to around $100 per tonne for Canadian and US cargoes. Buyers reported paying roughly $130 to $140 per tonne

The quickest way to identify a nutrient deficiency is to look at where the symptoms appear first. Shortages of mobile nutrients, such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and magnesium, show up on older, lower leaves, because the plant moves these nutrients to new growth. Shortages of immobile nutrients, such as sulphur, zinc, iron, boron and calcium,