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Glossary

Straight fertiliser

Straight fertiliser: definition of a fertiliser supplying a single primary nutrient (N, P or K), as opposed to compound or NPK fertilisers.

Straight fertilizer · Engrais simple · Single-nutrient fertilizer · Engrais uninaire

A straight fertiliser delivers just one primary nutrient — nitrogen, phosphorus or potassium — unlike compound or NPK products that combine several. The term encompasses products as diverse as prilled urea, ammonium nitrate, TSP, single superphosphate and muriate of potash.[1][2]

This classification is not absolute: many straight fertilisers contain other essential nutrients. Ammonium sulphate, for instance, supplies sulphur.[2] The European regulation on fertilising products distinguishes, among solid inorganic macronutrient fertilisers, between straight and compound types, and provides an equivalent category for micronutrients within inorganic fertilisers.[3] Superphosphates (SSP, TSP) illustrate this dual role: marketed as straight fertilisers, they also serve as feedstock for NPK manufacture.[4]

Sources

  1. FAO, Plant nutrition for food security (2006), p. 352 · View the source
  2. FAO, Plant nutrition for food security (2006), p. 109 · View the source
  3. Règlement (UE) 2019/1009 (produits fertilisants), ANNEX I · View the source
  4. Commission européenne, BREF LVIC-AAF (2007), p. 415 · View the source

Original text by fertiliser-market.com. Facts and figures are taken from the documents cited, at the page given; no text, table or chart is reproduced from them.

Updated October 27, 2026

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