Studies on the Fertilizer Value of Bittern from Salt Pans as Solid Fertilizer

Sodium chloride normally called common salt is widely distributed on the earth. Sea water is an inexhaustible source of common salt. The concentration of sodium chloride is higher in the sea and underground brines. Salt is produced mainly by solar evaporation of sea water, lake and subsoil brines. The left-out mother liquor after the separation of sodium chloride at 29.5°. Be is called ‘bittern’. Bittern is an extraordinary source of magnesium and potassium salts. It has predominantly magnesium and sulphate, trace amounts of potassium and calcium and also trace metals like iron, manganese, copper and zinc and so it can be used as fertilizer in its native state. The corrosive nature and transportation problems make the usage of bittern as fertilizer, impractical to some extent. So, bittern can be converted into solid fertilizers by various improved methods and is applied to plants.