Fertiliser sourcing, product specifications and crop nutrition

What a fertiliser specification must contain

A comparable fertiliser quotation needs a product-level specification, not a request for "fertiliser for a greenhouse". Without the analysis and grade, suppliers price different products and the cheapest offer is usually the least soluble or least pure one.

• Guaranteed nutrient analysis for each product, including nitrogen forms (nitrate, ammonium, urea).
• Physical form: fully water-soluble crystalline, liquid concentrate, granular field grade or controlled-release.
• Solubility at the working temperature, insoluble residue limit and pH of the solution.
• Purity: chloride, sodium, biuret and heavy-metal limits, and whether the grade is fertigation-approved.
• Compatibility group and which stock tank the product belongs in.
• Packaging (bag size, big-bag, IBC), pallet configuration, shelf life and storage conditions.
• Documentation: certificate of analysis per batch, safety data sheet, and organic or import certification when required.
• Delivery terms: incoterm, port or site, lead time, seasonal call-off volumes and price validity.

How the crop nutrition programme drives the product list

Nutrition is planned as a target solution reaching the root zone, then worked backwards. The agronomist sets target concentrations per growth stage for the crop and growing system, subtracts what the irrigation water already supplies, and only then selects the salts that close the gap without breaking compatibility or pushing EC beyond the crop's tolerance.

This is why the same crop in two locations needs two different product lists: high-bicarbonate water needs acid and changes the nitrogen form balance, high-sodium water constrains total EC, and a substrate system behaves differently from soil with a nutrient buffer.

• Crop, variety, growth stages and target production window.
• Growing system: soil, substrate, hydroponic recirculating or open field.
• Recent full water analysis, including EC, pH, bicarbonate, calcium, magnesium, sodium, chloride, sulphate and micro elements.
• Target EC and pH per stage, and drain or leaching fraction where relevant.
• Irrigated area, plant density and irrigation volumes, which convert concentrations into seasonal tonnage.

Sourcing the product: what actually changes the landed price

Fertiliser pricing is commodity-linked and moves during the quotation period, so a fertiliser RFQ is written differently from an equipment RFQ: it fixes the specification and the volume profile, and asks for price validity and call-off terms rather than a single fixed number.

• Annual volume per product and the seasonal call-off profile — small frequent orders price differently from consolidated shipments.
• Landed cost, not ex-works price: freight, incoterm, duties, port handling, local storage and losses.
• Import rules: registration, labelling, fertiliser import permits and organic certification where applicable.
• Batch consistency and the supplier's ability to repeat the same analysis across the season.
• Payment and price-validity terms, which on a recurring input matter as much as unit price.

Where fertiliser sits relative to the equipment project

Fertiliser supply is kept out of the greenhouse or irrigation equipment RFQ. The fertigation system is specified and priced with the irrigation head unit; the nutrient products are procured separately against the nutrition programme, with their own suppliers, volumes and terms. Keeping them separate makes both comparable and prevents a recurring cost from being hidden inside a capital quotation. SeedMatchGroup does not manufacture, install, engineer or finance equipment, and guarantees no yield, saving, ROI or payback. Crop nutrition programmes are written by qualified agronomists, not by the platform.

Frequently asked questions