Urea phosphate is a
fertilizer
A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...
having
NPK
Many countries have standardized the labeling of fertilizers to indicate their contents of major nutrients. The most common labeling convention, the NPK or N-P-K label, shows the amounts of the chemical elements nitrogen, phosphorus, and potas ...
formula 17-44-0. It is soluble in water, and produces a strongly acidic solution. Urea phosphate is sometimes added to blends which contain
calcium nitrate
Calcium nitrate, also called ''Norgessalpeter'' (Norwegian salpeter), is an inorganic compound with the formula Ca(NO3)2(H2O)x. The anhydrous compound, which is rarely encountered, absorbs moisture from the air to give the tetrahydrate. Both anhyd ...
,
magnesium nitrate
Magnesium nitrate refers to inorganic compounds with the formula Mg(NO3)2(H2O)x, where x = 6, 2, and 0. All are white solids. The anhydrous material is hygroscopic, quickly forming the hexahydrate upon standing in air. All of the salts are very ...
and
potassium nitrate
Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . This alkali metal nitrate salt is also known as Indian saltpetre (large deposits of which were historically mined in India). It is an ionic salt of potassium ions K+ and nitrat ...
to produce water-soluble formulas such as 15-5-15 and 13-2-20. The acidity of urea phosphate allows
Ca,
Mg and
P to co-exist in solution. Under less acidic conditions, there would be precipitation of Ca-Mg
phosphate
In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthophosphoric acid .
The phosphate or orthophosphate ion is derived from phospho ...
s. Urea phosphate is often used in
drip irrigation
Drip irrigation or trickle irrigation is a type of micro-irrigation system that has the potential to save water and nutrients by allowing water to drip slowly to the roots of plants, either from above the soil surface or buried below the surface. ...
to clean pipe systems.
Chemically, the urea phosphate compound is made of an equimolar mix of urea and phosphoric acid crystallizing together, and freely disassociating when dissolving in water. It is available in fertilizer vendor bags that carry a ''UP'' signet on the packaging.
Phosphates
Ureas
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