The Next Generation of Polymer Application

FertiSorb combines all plant-essential macro and naturally chelated micro-nutrients incorporated into the chemical structure of a super-absorbent polymer. It works as follows:

• FertiSorb is incorporated into the soil
• As the product absorbs water, the nutrient goes into solution,
  but is held in the root zone by the polymer
• 100% of the nutrient remains plant available
• No nutrient leaching, salt buildup or root burn

FertiSorb gives the grower the effectiveness of a water-soluble fertilizer in a delivery system that keeps that fertilizer in the root zone at all times. There's no need for multiple applications. no need for leaching accumulated slats from the soil, no need to remediate runoff. All of these problems are eliminated by the use of the polymer to hold the nutrient until taken up by the plant's roots.

Traditional "slow-release" fertilizers generally consist of fertilizer coated with a shell which degrades over time as a function of soil temperature, releasing nutrient as the coating degrades. Once released, the nutrient leaches out of the root zone unless the root is actually there to grab it or unless it binds to the soil. Over time, sustained leaching of nutrient can contribute to non-point source pollution of water tables and aquifers.

A common characteristic of all slow release fertilizers is their inability to maintain consistent nutrient release under conditions of high soil temperatures. Slow release manufacturers generally guarantee their nutrient availability only at an average soil temperature around 70 degrees. When temperatures exceed the guaranteed maximum, as they invariably do, the release can occur over a matter of days or weeks, rather than months. In many cases, soils mixed with slow-release fertilizers, if allowed to sit long in the soil, can begin to break the fertilizer even before the soil is used by the grower. Continuous monitoring of soil fertility levels and top-dressing of additional nutrient, as well as leaching of accumulated sales from soils to avoid root burn is often required.

A recent study¹ using 3 widely used slow-release fertilizers found that nutrient release is increased twenty to forty fold when soil temperatures are increased from 60˚ to 104˚ F, which is common¹ FertiSorb's nutrient release is immune to changes in solid temperature, thus allowing consistent availability of nutrient throughout the growing season. Since nutrients remain in the polymer until drawn by the plant, there is no leaching and no salt buildup.

See Technical Data for further information on studies.