Macronutrients

Nitrogen is considered to be the most important nutrient, and plants absorb more nitrogen than any other element. Nitrogen is important because it is a major component of chlorophyll, the compound by which plants use sunlight energy to produce sugars from water and carbon dioxide (photosynthesis). It is also a major component of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. Without amino acids, plants cannot make the special proteins that plant cells need to grow.

Natural sources of nitrogen:

• Fish emulsion is a great vegetative food. Organic fish emulsions come from fresh fish that undergo treatment with natural enzymes to break down into a nitrogen-rich source of nutrients. Fish emulsion is nothing new. It is the oldest of organic nutrient practices discovered by people who discarded waste fish in the same place. They noticed in these spots, plants grew better.
• Guano is the accumulated excrement of seabirds and bats. As a manure,  guano is a highly effective fertilizer due to its exceptionally high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium: key nutrients essential for plant growth. Bird guano has high levels of nitrate and ammonium. By mass, it is 8–21% nitrogen. According to the NPK of bat guano, its concentration of ingredients are 10-3-1. The higher nitrogen levels are responsible for fast, green growth. Phosphorus aids with root and flower development while potassium provides for the plant’s overall health.
  

Two important facts to note about Phosphorus:

1. Phosphorus is a vital component of ATP, Adenosine Triphosphate. ATP, sometimes known as the “energy currency”, is an important energy source for many chemical processes. Most plant cells use ATP as their main form of energy. ATP forms during photosynthesis and has phosphorus in its structure. 
2. Phosphorus is known to promote root growth and flowering, but too much phosphorus can harm the plant it was meant to help as well as the nearby environment. High levels of phosphorus can hurt the growth of soil organisms called mycorrhizal fungi. A mycorrhiza is a symbiotic association between a fungus and a plant. The term mycorrhiza refers to the role of the fungus in the plant's root system. Mycorrhizae (pl.) play important roles in plant nutrition, soil biology and soil chemistry. The plant makes organic molecules such as sugars by photosynthesis and supplies them to the fungus, and the fungus supplies to the plant water and mineral nutrients taken from the soil. 

Potassium is an essential plant nutrient and is required in large amounts for proper growth and reproduction of plants. It is associated with the movement of water, nutrients and carbohydrates in plant tissue and is considered second only to nitrogen. Potassium is commonly considered as the “quality nutrient.” It affects the plant's shape, size, color, taste and other measurements attributed to a healthy product. 

Potassium has many different roles in plants:

• In Photosynthesis, potassium regulates the opening and closing of stomata (pores) and therefore regulates CO2 uptake.
• Potassium triggers activation of enzymes which is essential for production of Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP). ATP, also known as the “energy currency”, is an important energy source for many chemical processes.
• Potassium plays a major role in the regulation of water in plants. Both uptake of water through plant roots and its loss through the stomata are affected by potassium.
• Known to improve drought resistance.
• Increases plants’ protein content.
• Starch is made by plants to store energy. In starch synthesis, the enzyme responsible for the process is activated by potassium.
• Activation of enzymes – potassium has an important role in the activation of many growth related enzymes in plants!