What is nutrient in fertilizers? What are regulations on fertilizer classification in Vietnam?

What is nutrient in fertilizers?  What are regulations on fertilizer classification in Vietnam? (Internet image) 

What is fertilizer?

More details can be found here.

What is nutrient in fertilizers?

According to Clause 3, Article 2 of Decree 84/2019/ND-CP, regulations on nutrient in a fertilizer are as follows:

Nutrient in a fertilizer means a chemical element that is necessary for the growth of plants. Nutrients consist of:

= Macronutrients, including nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) which can be absorbed by plants;

= Secondary nutrients, including calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and sulfur (S) which can be absorbed by plants;

= Micronutrients, including boron (B), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo) and zinc (Zn) which can be absorbed by plants.

In addition, in Clause 4, Article 2 of Decree 84/2019/ND-CP, restricted element in a fertilizer means an element that is potentially harmful or poses risks to food safety or the environment as prescribed by national technical regulations.

 What are regulations on fertilizer classification in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 3 of Decree 84/2019/ND-CP stipulating the classification of fertilizers as follows:

- Chemical fertilizers (also known as inorganic fertilizers) include different types of fertilizers which are produced mainly from inorganic substances or synthetic organic substances that have been treated through chemical processes or mineral processing.

They are further classified according to the compositions, contents or functions of main quality indexes or chemical bonds of nutrients as specified in national technical regulations.

- Organic fertilizers include different types of fertilizers which are produced mainly from natural organic substances (excluding synthetic organic substances) that have been treated through physical processes (such as drying, grinding, sieving, mixing, moisturizing) or biological processes (such as aging, fermentation, extraction).

They are further classified according to the compositions and functions of main quality indexes or production processes as specified in national technical regulations.

- Biological fertilizers include different types of fertilizers produced through biological processes or natural fertilizers that contain one biological substance or more such as humic acids, fulvic acids, amino acids, vitamins or other biological substances.

They are further classified according to the compositions or functions of main quality indexes as specified in national technical regulations.

- Fertilizers for root are fertilizers of the groups defined in Clause 1, Clause 2 and Clause 3 of Article 3 of Decree 84/2019/ND-CP that are used for provision of nutrients to plants through their roots or soil improvement.

- Foliar fertilizers are fertilizers of the groups defined in Clause 1, Clause 2 and Clause 3 of Article 3 of Decree 84/2019/ND-CP that are used to provide nutrients for plants through their stems and leaves.

Distinguishing between low-quality and fake fertilizer in Vietnam

According to the provisions of Clause 7, Clause 8, Article 2 of Decree 84/2019/ND-CP, then:

- Low-quality fertilizer means a fertilizer whose quality index and/or restricted elements fail(s) to meet the requirements specified in the Decision on recognition of fertilizer for trade in Vietnam (hereinafter referred to as “Recognition Decision”) or national technical regulations.

- Fake fertilizer means a fertilizer one main quality index or more of which accounts for only 70% or fewer compared to the proportion registered in the Recognition Decision (excluding main quality indexes being microorganisms).

Nguyen Pham Nhut Tan

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