ECONOMICS (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -Without fertilizers, nature struggles to replenish the nutrients in the soil. When crops are harvested, important nutrients are removed from the soil, because they follow the crop and end up at the dinner table. If the soil is not replenished with nutrients through fertilizing, crop yields will deteriorate over time.

Detailed explanation-2: -To retain soil fertility it is necessary to replenish nutrients by returning to the soil at least the same amount. So we use fertilizers which contains the essential nutrients. Fertilisers provide plants with the essential chemical elements needed for growth particularly nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.

Detailed explanation-3: -Farmers buy fertilisers at MRPs (maximum retail price) below their normal supply-and-demand-based market rates or what it costs to produce/import them.

Detailed explanation-4: -Most fertilizers that are commonly used in agriculture contain the three basic plant nutrients: nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Some fertilizers also contain certain “micronutrients, ” such as zinc and other metals, that are necessary for plant growth.