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Difference between manures and fertilizers.
Fertilizer provides nutrients to the plant in order for them to grow. Manure is animal feces that are used to provide necessary nutrients for the soil.In order for a plant to grow and thrive, it requires Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. The former three are easily available from air, water and other sources, while the latter three are hard to come by.

Fertilizers typically provide macronutrients such as nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and sulfur (S) and micronutrients such as boron (B), chlorine (Cl), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo), zinc (Zn) and nickel (Ni). The numbers on the bag of the fertilizer can tell the buyer the percentages of available nitrogen and the ratio of the different chemicals. For example a 12-10-8 would signify that the bag has 12% nitrogen, 10% phosphorous and 8% potassium. The rest is made up of the other nutrients and various different percentages.

Manure is organic matter that is used as organic fertilizer to provide plants with nutrients. Manure is basically animal feces mixed with bedding straw. It helps the fertility of the soil by adding organic matter and nutrients such as nitrogen back into the soil. The most common type of manure is cow dung which is mixed with straw beddings or directly placed in raw soil. They are a rich source of nutrients and micronutrients that are found inside the Earth and are required by the soil in order to grow.


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