These industrial mineral fertilizers are not only made from finite resources (as in the case of phosphorus), but also require a lot of energy and fossil fuels to produce (as in the case of nitrogen).

Scientists in Ferrara, Italy, have conducted a study using microbial biofertilizers and algae-based biostimulants instead of synthetic fertilizers on tomato crops — and the results were very promising ...

But, as new research shows, that disaster actually may have been beneficial for the early evolution of life by serving as "a giant fertilizer bomb" for the bacteria and other single-celled ...

A meteorite impact 3.26 billion years ago, much larger than the one that wiped out the dinosaurs, may have served as a "giant fertilizer bomb" for early life, providing crucial nutrients.