I want to do a comparison between two type of fertilizer to see which one contribute to highest growth rate on macroalgae. One has an NPK 9-6-6 and the other one is NPK 14.5-1.2-0. How do I go about to make sure I am not over fertilizing with one fertilizer?
Thank you
With three elements you will need several treatments. Choosing fixed ratios may not be a useful start and the other factor to consider is frequency of replacement and what measures you may make as a guide. Might not the task be simplified by starting with a successful nutrient solution?
Paul Milham Thank you. We are trying to settle on one type of fertilizer to use and since both fertilizer has contributed to good amount of growth rate we want to do a comparison as a way to show why this one and not the other was chosen.
Paul Milham We have limited amount of equipment to work with and we don't even have a proper laboratory. That is why we have chosen to try and do the comparison for now.
I understand the problem, but your proposed approach is a serious investment and it is unlikely to answer the question. In contrast, all that is needed is for one foliar plant sample to be analysed for all the elements of importance. This assumes that the plant is one for which 'sufficient' element concentrations are documented. But that is not much of a restriction because the databases are huge.
Most Australian laboratories would do the digestion and ICP-MS analysis for ~$100 AUS.
You can begin with N and P only, and buy test kits like the Visocolor from Macherey-Nagel, which is reasonably accurate regarding its price.
As M.Milham said you must check the databases and literature to find the recommended concentrations, then you just have to use the test kits to folow the nitrate and phosphate levels periodically, and fertilize separately with KNO3 and H3PO4 for example.
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