These fertilizers work well in producing crops. There is a concern that while the synthetics add similar beneficial minerals that other fertilizers do, they also may add other undesireable molecules. The benefit of their use is their low cost and ease of application. NPK stands for the most important three minerals that must be present for crop growth. These are nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium.
Different crops remove different amounts of minerals.
Bananas which are known to be high in potassium, remove high amounts of it. This potassium must be replaced. Corn depletes high levels of maganese. One problem environmentalist have with fertilizers is that agricultural run-off can be disasterous to water ecosystems. If an overbundence of nutrients is located within a water source, eutrophication can set in.