Bulletin 779 I ' Fertilizer Comumption in ' Texay, 1947-53 W: Rlrlfirfliwxlm —- wukiwl may A ave; an J < 1 i TEXAS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION R. D. LEWIS. DIRECTOR, COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS [m 1954 NUTRIENT STATUS ofVIRGIN UPLAND Sous i o m .030 % Deficient 5i? ._oa| m .060 Often .06l l0 J20 Sometimes Def. .l2l lo .l8O Good NITROGEN IOO 1O ZOO "' Sometimes Def. l POTASH (Soluble in dllule acid) v e ¢ - .|| w .20 v. G11 to .40 .4l lo 2.00 I Over 2.00 llo 3o p.p,m. ' Deficient Pnospnomc ACID (Soluble in dilute acid) FI-‘Zi-IOII-fimiieb-UAIQ Au Figure 1. Nutrient status of virgin upland soils. ILIZER CONSUMPTION IN TEXAS increased p y during the 6-year period, July 1, 1947 gh June 30, 1953. Some areas in which or no fertilizer was used in 1947-48 are now fg the largest users, and other areas have ed places in relative tonnages used. New ' 'als have appeared on the market. Changes _- relative importance of various grades re- ithe impact of advancing fertilizer technology dern plants and the vigorous fertilizer re- ' program of the Texas Agricultural Ex- , nt Station. raphs are used in this bulletin to present ‘important changes in a simple form. The f sed in making the graphs are presented in in 12 progress reports issued over the 6- “eriod. Each progress report gives the ton- of different fertilizer grades and materials 5r counties during a 6-month period. These Y» reports may be obtained by Writing to the Chemist of Texas, College Station, Texas. m! T STATUS OF VIRGIN UPLAND SOILS ertilizers are chemicals which are added to ,1 raise their content of plant nutrient ele- _ particularly nitrogen, phosphorus and po- I , to levels necessary for the satisfactory % of plants. The average content of nitro- ‘sily-soluble phosphoric acid (phosphorus fde) and potash (potassium oxide) in the ‘Qsoils of Texas is shown in a general way ‘_ re 1. Lime also is shown because of its on phosphorus availability, and the fact e calcareous soils of Texas usually are ‘soils well provided with plenty of avail- tassium. trogen often is deficient in the soils of East iand in the sandy soils of West Texas. It 1 es is deficient in the soils along the Gulf particularly in the sandier types. In gen- e virgin soils of the Blackland Prairies 'e Grand Prairie, here combined into one _d designated as North-Central Texas, usu- 0- provided with sufficient nitrogen. The g content of cultivated soils is not nearly rable as in the virgin soils, because all of ogen is contained in the organic matter A of the soil and it decreases rapidly when ; are cultivated. jsphorus is deficient over most of the articularly in the sandy soils in the east- i, and in the West Cross Timbers. y sh is deficient in many of the sandier the eastern part, and certain crops may Fertilizer Consumption in T exas, 1947-53 J. F. FUDGE, STATE CHEMIST respond to application of materials carrying pot- ash in other sections of Texas. Figure 1 presents only a general idea of the nutrient status of general soils areas. A soil analysis provides a more accurate basis for fer- tilizer recommendations for a particular crop on a definite piece of land. Such analysis may be obtained by writing to the Soil Testing Labora- tory, College Station, Texas. FERTILIZER CONSUMPTION IN TEXAS Figure 2 gives fertilizer data for the entire State. Each graph presents different handling of the same basic information. The amount of fertilizers sold annually in- creased from about 450,000 tons in 1948-49 to about 600,000 tons during the last 3 years of the period. Fall movements decreased appreciably during the last 2 years. This decrease is reflec- ted in the total tonnage sold during 1952-53. Nitrogen consumption increased markedly over the whole period, from about 17,000 in 1947- 48 to almost 60,000 tons in 1952-53. The great- est increase occurred in nitrogen materials sold during the spring season. Materials provided less than half of the total nitrogen used in 1947- 48, as compared with over three-fourths during 1952-53. About one-third of the nitrogen used CONTENTS Page Nutrient Status of Virgin Upland Soils 7’ 3 Fertilizer Consumption in Texas ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, _, 3 Trends in the Consumption of Mixed Goods 4 Trends in the Consumption of Materials ........... ._ 5 Fertilizer Consumption by Areas ______________________ __ 6 East Texas ___________________________________________________ _, 7 Gulf Coast _____________________________________________________ __ 8 North-Central Texas __________________________________ __ 9 South Texas __________________________________________________ __ 9 Rolling Plains _____________________________________________ 1 11 West Texas .................................................... __ 11 Comparisons among Areas ________________________ __ 12 Consumption of Unacidulated Phosphates; .... .. 12 Figure 2. Graph A concerns the actual tonnage data, without regard to the nature of the fertilizers. The four curves shown present the data for materials and for mixed goods, for fall and spring consumption, as follows: The bottom curve, MF, presents the tonnages of materials sold in the fall (July through December) of each year. The curve MT presents the tonnages of materials sold during the entire year; consequently, the vertical distance between curves MF and MT represents the tonnage of materials sold during the spring season (January through June) of each year. The vertical distance between the curve MT and the curve GF represents the tonnage of mixed goods sold during the fall season. The top curve, Total, gives the total tonnages of fertilizers moved during each of the 6 years covered by this report; the upper interval, be- tween curves GF and Total represents the tonnage of mixed goods moved during the spring season. Graphs B, C and D show the tonnages of nitrogen, available phosphoric acid and potash in materials and mix- ed. goods sold during the fall and spring seasons in each of the 6 years covered by this bulletin. These tonnages were calculated from the tonnages of the several materials in 1947-48 moved during the fall of 1947, as com- pared with only one-fifth during the fall of 1952. Available phosphoric acid consumption in- creased markedly from 1948 through 1950, level- ed off in 1951 and decreased rapidly in 1952 and 1953. This trend was due largely to the tendency to use materials which contained about half of the total phosphoric acid used. Fall sales ac- counted for slightly less than half of the total available phosphoric acid used. These trends are emphasized by the figures for the average com- position of materials. Available phosphoric acid in all materials increased sharply from an aver- age of about 16 percent in 1947-48 to 22 percent in 1949-50, and then decreased to about 15 per- cent in 1952-53. The average nitrogen in mater- ials increased sharply over the entire period, from about 4 to 17 percent. The nitrogen-available phosphoric acid ratio in materials was about 1 :4 in 1947-48 and about 1:1 in 1952-53. 4 ENT IR E STAT E A ‘A ‘lbICPh h ‘Pt hlix o) E F Mixed Goods(G)und * _"°'° _e °5p-°" ° °5 1 1 A e a e M - c l Materiulsw) ‘c Aud (‘D20’) i VCrogpositionP/sl , gfiéztloitisos A (M tons) “‘ (Mtonsl (M tons) \ T \ .. 1 N om Total all Toiol forYeur “ljg “ ‘ P - a T n J Tonnage <= 2 fi N-All GF h,_ 0.1m “ %__ _ _____ f . ""1 Year Ending June so, M T “fi ,1, .;?;~"4e '49 ‘so ‘s: '52 '55 .q_(,,_,_., _= l1 “llllll " 1111_1|“1|1|1 Fertilizer consumption in Texas. and mixed goods grades multiplied by the gua I analysis of each product. ‘ Graph E presents the average percentages of* gen and available phosphoric acid in materials, cu 5 Mat and P-Mat, and the average percentages of ni (N-All), available phosphoric acid, P-All. and pota, All), in the total tonnage moved during the year. i Graph F presents the tonnage of materials, ni from materials, N, and available phosphoric acid, P; materials expressed as percentages of the total to l. used. -' Graph G presents the tonnages of materials an. ed goods, and of each of the three primary w, moved during the fall expressed as percentages r» tonnages of these several categories moved durin entire year. In these, and in succeeding graphs for individu; ions, a given vertical distance represents differen nages or percentages, while the horizontal distan tween points are constant and represent the d' years, each ending on June 30, the end of the fey‘ year. a Only very small quantities of materials , ing potash were used. Potash in mixed goo creased markedly from 1949-50 to 1951-52, ticularly in the goods sold during the sprin TRENDS IN THE CONSUMPTION OF MIXED GOODS a Important trends for mixed goods are - r in Figure 3. Graph A shows the strong tre higher analysis. In this graph, the actu centages of available phosphoric acid have, divided by 2, because the approximate ratio mixed goods has been 1-2-1. The percen ¢ A available phosphoric acid increased signifi but the relative increase has not been as gr, with nitrogen and potash. The reason f0 ~ difference in trends is given in graph B, , shows highly significant increases in the", sumption of goods of the 1-2-1, 1-1-1 and ratio, and a marked decrease in consumpti" MIXED GOODS 7 ‘QT. . ‘ — *—51_ A ‘oroqo Composi- I of MixedGoocE “l °/o of M. G. Poms?‘ ill‘ Eégilnaringo tdo . - nt oo s O \\\\\\ ,i ' Tonnage of Major Ratios % of M Gfformoqe‘ fill Fl I‘ l I30‘ Figure 3. Consumption of mixed goods. -3-1 ratio. Goods of the 1-2-1 ratio account- sold during 1952-53. While the 5-10-5 grade still Vi» nearly half of the mixed goods tonnage is by far the most popular of the 1-2-1 ratio, the j- C), over half of the mixed goods nitro- tonnages of higher grades of this ratio, particu- ‘raph D), an increase from about one-third larly 10-20-10 and 12-24-12, have increased mar- _'- a half of the available phosphoric acid in kedly. ' ‘a goods (graph E), and a fluctuating pro- . . of the mixed goods potash (graph F) Over the 6-year_ period, a narrowing of the “the period. Goods of the ()_2_1 and 1_1_1 N-P-K ratio and an increase in the use of grades contributed an insignificant part of the of higher analysis have been particularly import- fes in 1947-48, but increased in importance ant‘ Q the 6-year period until each contributed 2 15 percent of the available phosphoric acid TRENDS IN THE CONSUMPTION OF tash used in mixed goods during 1952-53. MATER1AL$ j rong trend toward goods of higher analysis _ wn in graph G, This is particularly strik- Trends in the purchase of materials for their r the 1-2-0 ratio; during the first 2 years, nitrogen and available phosphoric acid contents » y grade of this ratio on the Texas market are shown in Figure 4. The marked increase in ‘12-0, Whereas the 10-20-0 grade accounted the use of nitrogen materials and a decrease in ictically all of the tonnage of the 1-2-0 ratio the use of available phosphoric acid materials F G A. n. A. from Differ- . A.P.A. from aimi- l em Mvteriuls ent Materials us ‘ °/o ofMoteriul C , D ‘ N from Different ‘till; N from Different .11 Materials as % of M Material N ‘"1 i‘ A ' _ oqen or A.P. A. ~ Materials us 0f Total N or P i h . Niffggt p Figure 4. Consumption of fertilizer materials. ¢ - » - - - 33:: E051 Texas NV‘ Gulf Coast // North Central South Texas Rolling Plains West Texas AREAS SUMMARIZED Figure 5. Areas for which county fertilizer data were summarized. have been mentioned; this is shown more clearly in graph A. The tonnages of all nitrogen mater- ials (graph B) have increased markedly during the 6 years, particularly ammonium sulfate, which was of little importance in 1947-48, and anhydrous ammonia, which came on the Texas market for the first time in 1949-50, but contrib- uted about one-fifth of the nitrogen material ton- nage in 1952-53. During the latter year, anhy- drous ammonia provided much more nitrogen than any other nitrogen material (graphs C and D). The use of normal superphosphate (graphs E and F) increased slightly for 2 years and then decreased sharply the rest of the period, Whereas there was a marked increase in the use of concen- trated superphosphates and ammonium phos- 6 - - - . - phates for 4 years, after which consum limited by the production capacities of the lizer plants. Normal superphosphate practically all of the available phosphoric materials during 1947-48 (graph G), slightly more than ammonium phosphates in. 53. FERTILIZER CONSUMPTION BY Soils, principal crops grown, farming methods vary widely in different of Texas. The data for individual cated that there also were Wide differences fertilizer consumption pattern. F for the individual counties, were, therefore, A EAST TEXAS ‘i1’, Average Foll Soles as % Composition Figure 6. Fed for those counties in Which there was a nable uniformity among these factors, Fig- The summary data for each area are pre- p,» in a number of graphs similar to those of e 2 for the entire State. wTexas ‘EIThe data for East Texas are presented in Erie 6. This area is covered by sandy soils often are deficient in all of the primary onents of fertilizers. Until recent years, gically all of the fertilizer sold in the State lused in this area. The greater part of the pizer used (graph A) is mixed goods sold ‘g the spring season. Nitrogen consumption “ph B) increased from about 6,000 tons in -48 to 15,000 tons in 1952-53. Available Fertilizer consumption in East Texas. phosphoric acid consumption (graph C) increas- ed from about 18,000 tons in 1947-48 to aboul 24,000 tons in 1949-52, and then decreased tc about 18,000 tons in 1952-53. Potash use (grapl D) increased from 5,000 to nearly 11,000 tons over the first 5 years of this period, then drop- ped to about 8,000 tons in 1952-53. Over the 6- year period, materials used (graph E) increased in average nitrogen content from 3 to 23 percent. and decreased in available phosphoric acid from 18 to 8 percent. The average ratio of fertilizer used Was about 4-12-4 in 1947-48 and 8-10-5 in 1952-53. The relative importance of nitrogen materials (graph F) increased sharply over the entire 6-year period Whereas phosphate material's decreased considerably after 1949-50. The rela- tive importance of the fall trade (graph G) in- B C Mixed Goods and Nitrogen Avail. Phos, Acid Moieria Is A Tons) ‘:1 W illfllll W’ (M Tons) Z GUTLF COAST . F ‘X ' Moieriols 0S °/o of Totals u} ll ‘l 5. Total ' Toto I l ‘ ' G-Foll . Figure 7. Fertilizer consumption in the Gulf Coast area. NORTH CENTRAL l A c v l E A F 6 , Mu“ 39°45 QM Avon, Phos, Acid Potash x Average _ _ A Materials as % Fall Sales l Month's y.‘ COMPOSIHOH 1.»: i of Totali 1;,‘ (M Tons) (M I995) adv.) /\ in] "dug / P “M0,. , P-All -'—'5 || 1|, Rum. Total Figure 8. Fertilizer consumption in North-Central Texas. creased over the first 4 years of this period with respect t0 mixed goods, available phosphoric acid and potash. This was due largely to increases in the sales of the 0-14-7 and 0-12-12 grades in the program of the Agricultural Marketing Service (formerly the Production and Marketing Admin- istration) of the U. S. Department of Agricul- ture. Gulf Coast The tonnage of fertilizer moving into the Gulf Coast area (Figure 7) nearly doubled dur- ing this period, going from about 70,000 tons to 135,000 tons, with most of the increase occurring during the first 4 years. Nitrogen consumption was almost five times as great in 1952-53 as it was in 1947-48, with the greatest part of this in- crease being accounted for by the incrf, nitrogen materials moving during the sprin‘ son. The consumption of available phos‘ acid nearly doubled, increasing from abort 000 to about 19,000 tons over the 6 years; use of potash in mixed goods during the a season nearly tripled. Materials averaged”, 5-20-0 in 1947-48 and 12-16-0 in 1952-53, showing the strong trend toward a narrow’ the N-P ratio. Materials were of much relative importance on the Gulf Coast than were in East Texas, and accounted for nearl i thirds of the tonnage of fertilizers, of ni and of available phosphoric acid used in the; Fall sales accounted for almost half of th terials and only one-fifth of the mixed go, each year. i ‘ SOUTH TEXAS 10w B ‘ Nitrogen 5x551 Avail. Phos. Acid (M Tons) E it?‘ Av er age Composition fr?" ‘./O’ Materials as ‘l; (M Ton_s__) Figure 9. Fertilizer consumption in South Texas. ROL L lNG PLAINS A , M Tons) 121;] E . p F QT *1 c Mixed Goods and Pl,‘ Aéegrgggsmon Materials as % Fall Sales as % ‘Materials W‘ p r of Totals “E of Totals M (7') P-Mat. d m a0 V’ lTotal YER QTY; 16 50 so . \/ ti i v ‘ I P Tonnage ‘e ; 4O y! . , ' ‘Q Figure 10. ~ -Central Texas ‘ This area is covered largely by highly cal- *- soils of heavy texture. Superphosphates unted for the greater part of the tonnage ; re 8), but the importance of nitrogen in- ed fairly rapidly over the period, so that the jge composition of all fertilizers changed about 2-16-0 in 1947-48 to 10-15-2 in 1952- Materials provided only about 20 percent of total nitrogen used at the beginning of the ‘ll and about 75 percent at the end; they pro- slightly less than two-thirds of the available phoric acid during this time. Most of the l amount of potash used moved in mixed s sold during the spring season. Fall sales hunted for about two-thirds of the tonnage of rials and of available phosphoric acid used, one-fifth to one-fourth of the mixed goods, gen and potash. Fertilizer consumption in the Rolling Plains. South Texas The soils of this area may be classified as heavy and calcareous, and light and noncalcare- ous. Water is a limiting factor throughout South Texas, but irrigation is used in a number of local areas. Significant decreases occurred in the ton- nage of fertilizers and of available phosphoric acid used (Figure 9). Nitrogen consumption increas- ed during the period, but it was small in compar- ison with the increase in other areas. Very little potash was used. The average ratio of all ferti- lizers used was approximately 6-14-1 in 1947-48 and 11-16-2 in 1952-53. About three-fourths of the nitrogen and available phosphoric acid used was in materials. The relative importance of fall sales decreased throughout the 6-year per- iod. 5o ’+= l a is ‘ l, C fl Mixed Goods and ‘Him, Avail Phos. Acid if? Potash Materials ill! i,‘ (M Tonsl ‘l’ (M Torts) ‘ WEST TEXAS (M Tons) 0 E F i315}? 6 Average Materials as % Fall Sales as °/= i“. Composition ' of Totals of Totals ‘_(°/gl WWW fif_ lllli ‘ti; Iii t‘ l}, Total / A l l i l- l §=~_- _ ‘ Figure 11. Fertilizer consumption in West Texas. Cousumenon of PLANT F000 in DIFFERENT REGIONS and YEARS 1941-8 | 1948-9 _[ I949-50 ] 1950-: [ 1951-2 l Nitrogen in Mixed Goods. 57 47 Nitrogen in Materials Available Phosphoric Acid in Mixed Goods I47 Figures above bars are hundreds of tons Figure 12. Nitrogen and available phosphoric acid in mixed goods and in materials used in different areas and d’ 10 different years. RELATIVE lMPORTANCE of DIFFERENT AREAS in l947-8 and 1952-3 ACTUAL TONNAGES All Fertilizers Mixed Goods Materials TONNAGES of PRIMARY COMPONENTS ALL FERTILIZERS Nitrogen A voiluble Phosphoric Acid Potash R. MIXED GOODS Tonnage: of potash used in materials or In Vleet Texas were too emoll to graph. Figure: below circles are thousands of tons. I Water is the limiting factor in crop produc- l on the Rolling Plains and very little irriga- e is practiced. Fertilizer consumption was very ll, and most of the fertilizer tonnage used was uperphosphate sold during the fall (Figure .. The use of fertilizer declined steadily the 3 years of the period covered by this report. Figure 13. Relative importance of different areas and in different factors during 1947-48 and 1952-53. West Texas Water is the limiting factor in crop produc- tion in this area, and the use of fertilizers is not recommended unless Water is available through irrigation. Irrigation in the area increased enor- mously during the past several years, and ferti- lizers pay big dividends when sufficient water is provided. High yields often are necessary to pay 11 for the cost of irrigation. The tonnage of ferti- lizers used, particularly of nitrogen materials (Figure 11), increased greatly from 1947-48 through 1952-53. Only small tonnages of mixed goods and of potash were used. The average ratio of the fertilizers used Was about 8-16-0 in 1947- 48, 12-24-0 in 1949-50 and 28-14-0 in 1952-53. More anhydrous ammonia was used in this area than in any other section of the State. The area also used a large part of the ammonium phos- phates and concentrated superphosphate sold in Texas. Comparisons among Areas Annual data for consumption of nitrogen and available phosphoric acid in mixed goods and in materials in the several areas are compared in Figure 12. Comparable graphs Were not develop- ed for potash because almost all of it used Was accounted for by mixed goods used in the eastern part of the State. The relative importance of these areas with respect to a number of factors at the beginning and end of the 6-year period is shown in another Way in Figure 13. East Texas (E) usediahout half of the mix- ed goods nitrogen sold in the State throughout the period. About the same quantities of mixed goods nitrogen were used in the Gulf Coast (G), North-Central area (N) and South Texas (S) throughout most of the period, with the Gulf Coast increasing its relative consumption in 1952- 53 to about one-fourth of the State total. The tremendous increase in the use of nitrogen ma- terials is illustrated by the second row of bar graphs in Figure 12. During 1947-48, South Tex- as used nearly half (44 percent) of the materials nitrogen sold in the State, and then decreased in relative importance over the rest of the period. By 1952-53, West Texas was using about one- third (32 percent) and the Gulf Coast about one- fourth (23 percent) of the total used, with East Texas, South Texas and the North-Central area each using a little less than one-sixth. The total quantities of nitrogen used during 1952-53 in East Texas (about 14,700 tons) the Gulf Coast (13,600 tons) and the West Texas (W) area (13,- 600) were about the same, but the patterns of distribution between mixed goods and materials differed widely. About half of the nitrogen used in East Texas came from mixed goods, nearly three-fourths of the nitrogen used in the Gulf Coast came from materials, and mixed goods pro- 1'2. vided only a very small part (4 :13‘6) of the a gen used in West Texas. East Texas used about half of the State of available phosphoric acid in mixed goods. Gulf Coast, N orth-Central and South Texas I used about the same tonnages. The grap ; available phosphoric acid from materials (bo row of Figure 12) show the increase to 19 and the successive decreases from that i which already have been discussed. Thi crease was much greater in East Texas th any other area. Thirty-nine percent of the 2 tons of available phosphoric acid used in , Texas in 1949-50 came from materials, wh' 1952-53 less than 14 percent of the 19,200. used came from materials. In the Gulf 6 area in 1952-53, with about the same total nage of available phosphoric acid as that us East Texas (18,100:19,200), 60 percent ~, from materials. o CONSUMPTION OF UNACIDULATED PHOSPHATES Considerable quantities o acidulated phosphates, parti ly rock phosphate, were used ing the period covered by th’) port. Almost all of this to A was used in the East Texas- Gulf Coast areas, Figure 14. . Very little rock phosphate used in the year ending Jun 1948, but the usage incr markedly for 3 years until a A over 20,000 tons were used in Texas and 15,000 tons in the Coast area during 1950-51. i um 14 Com sumption in East Texas the, Suiption ‘of um clined rapidly the next 2 =_ acidulated phos- only about 5,000 tons were phates‘ in 1952-53. Sales in the Gulf area remained high an additional year, the clined during 1952-53 to about 10,000 tons, considerable part of this decline was du changes in the program of the Agricultural keting Service. ’