It’s estimated that crop yields more than doubled between 1908 and 2008, with synthetic nitrogen fertilizer responsible for up to half that growth.

Some researchers have tied the massive growth in human population in the last seventy years to the increased use of nitrogen fertilizer.

Nitrogen fertilizer increases leaf yields 1.5-2.5 fold.

However, applying too much nitrogen fertilizer throughout the spring, may result in an abundance of young foliage tissues that could be susceptible to disease.

On the other hand, if levels are above this range, addition of nitrogen fertilizer will not increase crop yield.

Mixing this biomass with a synthetic fertilizer will bring higher yields.

The resultant nitric acid was then used for the production of synthetic fertilizer.

For every pound of cotton harvested, a farmer uses up 1/3 lb of chemical, synthetic fertilizer.

The use of synthetic fertilizers accounts for more than half that growth.

For example, human activities have more than doubled the amount of nitrogen globally from 1960 to 1990, with the use of synthetic fertilizers accounting for the majority of that growth.