The soil pollution that comes from different sources such as animal wastes, use of fertilizers, use of pesticides, fungicides, herbicides and nematocides that pollutes the land or soil and makes it unfit for further use is known or agricultural pollution. The agricultural pollutants can be broadly divided into chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

Chemical Fertilizers

Effects

Chemical fertilizers pollution is mainly because of the compulsion increasing the agricultural products by supplementing excessively with synthetic chemical nutrients to the land or soil for plant growth.

1. The excess synthetic chemicals seep inside the earth contaminating the underground water demand system. The chemicals can be carried by rain water to the closer water bodies (river or lakes) and pollutes them. The microfloras as well as fishes are affected by the chemicals. Sometimes there will be a bloom in the growth of microfloras due to the chemicals that disturbs the ecological balance present in the aquatic system.
2. The fertilizers can increase the salinity of the soil and hence can increase the water demand for the plants.
3. The plants can easily intake the minerals present in the soil along with the synthetic fertilizers and hence it can reduce the fertility of the soil within a short span of time.
4. Use of fertilizers makes the top soil harder which gets eroded by rain water. The top soil is only fertile and productive. If it is eroded and carried away by rain, the fertility of the soil gets lost.
5. The soil contains thirteen elements and plants need an addition of three more elements in very less quantity through other means. But in the soil or land any addition to this number can pollute the land or soil.

Sources

The fertilizers are the nitrogenous fertilizers and phosphatic fertilizers. Nitrogenous fertilizers are urea, ammonium sulphate etc. The phosphatic fertilizers are mainly super phosphates. Complex fertilizers such as mixtures of ammonium sulphate – phosphate etc are also commonly used.

Control measures

1. It is always better to use natural manures such as cattle dung, green tree leaves, pigery wastes etc.
2. It is wise to make use of an optimum quantity of fertilizer for agriculture.
3. The chemical; fertilizers should be always fortified with other supplementary nutrients.
4. Now-a-days biofertilizers making use of certain micro-organisms that fix the nutrients such as nitrogen or phosphorous are getting popular.

• Written by rashmi.
• In category General.
• 14 years ago.

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