Review of Organic Fertilizer and Its Role in Organic Farming

The use of organic fertilizers is a major component of organic farming practices. The decline in soil quality is becoming a significant process of soil degradation. Optimizing organic fertilizer incorporation practices in cropland is essential to enhancing crop productivity and soil health. Organic fertilizers are substances with a specific chemical composition and high nutritional content that supply essential nutrients for plant growth. Organic materials are used as food sources because of organic fertilizer, which involves the biochemical breakdown of dead organic tissue into its inorganic constituent forms, primarily through the action of microbes. The important crop nutrients (N, P, K, S, Ca, Mg, B, Cl, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni, and Zn) are provided in balanced forms by organic fertilizers, including micronutrients during decomposition by micro-organisms. Organic fertilizers also play a crucial role in improving soil health, crop yield, and help in climate change and conservation through various mechanisms. It also plays a key role in enhancing production, mainly because of their high content of organic matter, which enhances the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of the soil, besides promoting proper growth development for an economically viable production yield for farmers.