Overuse of chemical fertilizers: The benefits outweigh the harms.

The use of chemical fertilizers (PBHH) in agricultural production processes is widely used by farmers, and is even an important factor that directly determines crop productivity. However, the widespread, unbalanced, and improper abuse of PBHH will directly affect the soil resources, causing soil to become infertile and seriously degraded. In particular, it is harmful to beneficial organisms, negatively affecting the environment and human health.

Overuse of chemical fertilizers: The benefits outweigh the harms. The area of lemon trees planted by Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong's family in Ha Long commune (Ha Trung) produces beautiful, even fruit after limiting chemical fertilizers.

In Xuan Minh commune (Tho Xuan), Mr. Ha Van Truong's family has "experience" in using chemical fertilizers to fertilize rice, corn... Mr. Minh shared: "We all understand the benefits of using manure and organic fertilizers in production and farming, however, the cost is quite high and composting manure is time-consuming and difficult, so we go to the store to buy chemical fertilizers for quick and convenient fertilization. We have been using it for 10 years now and have not seen any problems. Sometimes the plants encounter some diseases but they are still overcome."

In addition to the long-term abuse of PBHH, many farmers also rely on their feelings and experience, without calculating the exact time and amount of fertilizer. Ms. Le Thi Ly, Quang Ninh commune (Quang Xuong) said: "I take care of it very simply and do not need to apply base fertilizer. Whenever I see that the rice is stunted after sowing, I sprinkle about 2-3 kg of nitrogen for the plant to grow, and when the rice is about to enter the stage of heading, I use NPK mixed fertilizer to fertilize."

The abuse of PBHH combined with the use of fertilizers based on feelings; the use of single fertilizers, the imbalance between nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium... is largely due to the weak awareness of some farmers. However, after being trained, many production households have gradually realized the harmful effects of PBHH that cannot be ignored. A typical example is the model of growing four-season lemons of Mr. Nguyen Van Bao's family, Gia Mieu village, Ha Long commune (Ha Trung) for the past 3 years has been using PBHH and organic fertilizers alternately by mixing the original products to produce fertilizers. The ingredients are easy to find and cheap such as yogurt, rice bran, yeast and waste products such as eggshells, leftovers, vegetables and fruits... Mr. Bao said: "Maybe in the past, when I used to fertilize plants entirely with PBHH, the benefits they brought were quite outstanding, even helping to increase crop productivity more than PBHC; along with that is the ability to penetrate quickly and the price is quite cheap. However, when using it year after year, I noticed that the soil became hard, less fertile and no longer porous, from which the plants became less and less effective. At the same time, in the conversion process, some toxic gases evaporated, causing serious air pollution, directly affecting human health. Therefore, I was determined to reduce the dosage of PBHH, alternating with PBHC with the goal of moving towards green agriculture".

Every year, Thanh Hoa province cultivates about 250 - 300 thousand hectares of various crops. On average, the amount of pesticides used in production each year is about 100,000 tons - a not small number. According to Dr. Le Van Cuong, Head of the Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Hong Duc University: The abuse of pesticides will prevent plants from absorbing the necessary nutrients, reducing the "resistance" of plants to pests because pesticides will kill microorganisms in the soil. Without microorganisms, the soil will become infertile and hard, so even if fertilizer is continued at high doses, the plants will not grow. In addition, currently the source of by-products from pesticides is very large, most farmers choose to burn or bury them in the fields, which is not only wasteful but also slows down decomposition, creating a "smoke" phenomenon of large amounts of heat-absorbing emissions that pollute the environment and increase the greenhouse effect. Therefore, it is time to reorient people to gradually say "no" to old production practices to minimize harmful impacts on the environment as well as ensure safety and health for the community.

Article and photos: Chi Pham

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