What do the three numbers on a fertilizer label represent?

What do the three numbers on a fertilizer label represent?

All fertilizer labels have three bold numbers. These three numbers represent the primary nutrients (nitrogen(N) – phosphorus(P) – potassium(K)). This label, known as the fertilizer grade, is a national standard. A bag of 10-10-10 fertilizer contains 10 percent nitrogen, 10 percent phosphate and 10 percent potash.

Why is it important to read a fertilizer bag?

Understanding these numbers is important for two reasons 1) it will help you select the appropriate fertilizer for different circumstances and 2) it will help you understand how many pounds of each product ingredient is in the bag and how much to apply.

How do you read NPK ratio?

Understanding N-P-K Prominently featured will be the N-P-K ratio, the percentage the product contains by volume of nitrogen (chemical symbol N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). A 16-16-16 fertilizer, for example, contains 16% nitrogen, 16% phosphorus, and 16% potassium.

What are the numbers on starter fertilizer?

The three numbers on a fertilizer label indicate the percentages of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (in that order) in the formulation. For example in the table above, applying 20 pounds of a 5-10-5 fertilizer would contain 1 pound of nitrogen, 2 pounds of phosphorus, and 1 pound of potassium.