Researched
Mineral fertilizer
Justus von Liebig's mineral theory argued that plants live on mineral nutrients such as phosphorus and potassium, leading to the first factory-made fertilizers.
Open in the interactive tree →Liebig argued in 1840 that plants live on mineral nutrients, not humus; his popularisation of Carl Sprengel's law of the minimum (1828) held that growth is limited by the scarcest nutrient. John Lawes patented superphosphate in 1842 and began factory production soon after. Natural nitrate (Chilean saltpetre) and guano were soon running short, which created the pressure that led to artificial nitrogen.
Prerequisites
- Crop rotation (Norfolk system)~1730
- Modern Chemistry (Lavoisier)1789Mineral-nutrient theory rests on chemical analysis of plants and soil