Code of Maryland Regulations › Title 15 - MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE › Subtitle 18 - STATE CHEMIST › Chapter 15.18.01 - Definitions of Identity for Commercial Fertilizer › Section 15.18.01.02 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 14, July 12, 2024
A. The following
				terms have the meanings indicated.
B. Terms Defined.
(1) "Acid-forming fertilizer" means a
				fertilizer capable of increasing the residual acidity of soil.
(2) "Chelate" means the type of compound or
				chemical union in which a central metal (cation or anion) is joined to a
				chelating agent in the same molecule by two or more bonds. These linkages
				result in the formation of one or more heterocyclic rings in which the metal is
				part of the ring.
(3) "Chelated
				plant nutrients" means compounds of metallic secondary and micro plant
				nutrients with organic chelating agents which have the property of being
				available under pH conditions in which the nutrients normally form insoluble
				compounds.
(4) "Chelating agent
				(sequestering agent)" means a compound having two or more sites of attachment
				to a metal (cation or anion) to form a chelate. Examples are EDTA
				(ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid), NTA (nitrilotriacetic acid), polyphosphoric
				acid, proteins and polyflavanoids.
(5) "Coated slow release fertilizer" means a
				fertilizer containing sources of water soluble nutrients, whose release is
				controlled by a coating applied to the fertilizer.
(6) "Filler" means a substance added to
				fertilizer materials to provide bulk, prevent caking, or serve some purpose
				other than providing essential plant nutrients.
(7) "Granular fertilizer" means a fertilizer
				in which 95 percent or more of the product is retained on a series of sieves
				within the range of 8 mesh (2.38 mm. opening) to 20 mesh (0.841 mm. opening),
				and in which the largest particle passes through a sieve having an opening not
				larger than four times that of the sieve which would retain 95 percent or more
				of the product.
Examples
Sieve opening retaining 95 percent or
						  more of the product.
Sieve opening passing the largest
						  particle in the product.
Maximum range of particle
						  size.
Opening
Opening
Mesh
U.S.No.
mm
Mesh
U.S.No.
mm
Mesh
20
20
0.841
6
6
3.36
-6
+20
16
18
1.00
5
5
4.00
-5
+16
14
16
1.19
4
4
4.76
-4
+14
12
14
1.41
3.5
3.5
5.66
-3.5
+12
10
12
1.68
3
0.265 inch
6.73
-3
+10
8
8
2.38
3/8 inch
3/8 inch
9.51
-3/8 inch
+ 8
(8)
				"Liquid fertilizer" means a fluid in which plant nutrients are in a true
				solution.
(9) "Lot" means, for
				purposes of obtaining an official sample, an identifiable quantity of
				commercial fertilizer that can be sampled, up to and including a freight car
				load or 50 tons maximum, or that amount contained in a single vehicle, or that
				amount delivered under a single invoice.
(10) "Manipulation" means the processing or
				treating of a substance in any manner, including drying to a moisture content
				of less than 30 percent.
(11)
				"Natural organic fertilizer" means a fertilizer derived from either plant or
				animal products containing one or more elements (other than carbon, hydrogen,
				and oxygen) which are essential for plant growth. These materials may be
				subjected to biological degradation processes under normal conditions of aging,
				rainfall, sun-curing, air drying, composting, rotting, enzymatic, or anaerobic
				or aerobic bacterial action, or any combination of these. These materials may
				not be mixed with synthetic materials, or changed in any physical or chemical
				manner from their initial state except by physical manipulation such as drying,
				cooking, chopping, grinding, shredding or pelleting.
(12) "Nitrophosphate" means a product
				obtained by acidulation of phosphate rock with nitric acid. The complex mixture
				of nitrates and phosphate thus obtained does not contain nitrate nitrogen and
				phosphorus in the same molecule. The process is subject to modification
				designed to remove the hygroscopic calcium nitrate formed. These modifications
				include ammoniation, physical separation, co-acidulation with sulfuric or
				phosphoric acids, or subsequent treatment with carbon dioxide.
(13) "Nonacid-forming fertilizer" means a
				fertilizer not capable of increasing the residual acidity of the
				soil.
(14) "Organic fertilizer"
				means a material containing carbon and one or more elements other than hydrogen
				and oxygen essential for plant growth.
(15) "Overall index value" means the value
				obtained from the calculation: (Commercial Value Found) 100/(Commercial Value
				Guaranteed) using assigned values for N, APA, and soluble
				K2O, such as $3, $2, and $1 per unit.
(16) "Pelletized fertilizer" means a product,
				uniform in size and usually of globular shape, containing one or more nutrients
				produced by one of several methods including:
(a) Solidification of a melt while falling
				through a counter-current stream of air;
(b) Dried layers of slurry applied to
				recycling particles;
(c)
				Compaction;
(d)
				Extrusion;
(e)
				Granulation.
(17)
				"Primary nutrients" means nutrients that include the following plant food:
(a) Nitrogen (N);
(b) Available phosphoric acid
				(P2O5); and
(c) Potash
				(K2O).
(18) "Secondary and micro plant nutrients"
				means nutrients other than the primary nutrients that are essential for the
				normal growth of plants and that may need to be added to the growth medium.
				Secondary plant nutrients shall include boron, chlorine, cobalt, copper, iron,
				manganese, molybdenum, sodium, and zinc.
(19) "Slurry fertilizer" means a fluid
				mixture containing dissolved and undissolved plant nutrient materials which
				requires continuous mechanical agitation to assure homogeneity.
(20) "Suspension fertilizer" means a fluid
				containing dissolved and undissolved plant nutrients. The suspension of the
				undissolved plant nutrients may be inherent with the materials or produced with
				the aid of a suspending agent of non-fertilizer properties. Mechanical
				agitation may be necessary in some cases to facilitate uniform suspension of
				undissolved plant nutrients.
(21)
				"Synthetic" means any substance generated from another material or materials by
				means of a chemical reaction.
(22)
				"Unit" means 20 pounds of plant food or 1 percent of a ton.