Calcium Nitrate for Fertilizer: a practical insider’s look

If you follow agro chemical fertilizers, you’ve probably noticed a swing back toward reliable, soluble nutrients that simply work in drip and fertigation—without drama. Calcium nitrate is one of those stalwarts. It’s not flashy, but growers keep asking for it because it feeds nitrogen and calcium in one pass, stabilizes cell walls, and (surprisingly often) salvages blossom-end rot in fruiting crops.

Product snapshot and specs

Product: Calcium Nitrate for Fertilizer (Ca(NO3)2·4H2O), CAS 13477-34-4. Origin: Zhongyuan Building No.368 Youyi North Street, Shijiazhuang, China. In fact, the tetrahydrate grade dissolves fast, so it’s friendly for greenhouse tanks and precision drip lines.

Process flow and quality

• Materials: limestone-derived calcium + nitric acid → calcium nitrate tetrahydrate.
• Methods: crystallization, prilling/granulation, anti-caking surface treatment.
• Testing: ICP-OES for heavy metals, ion chromatography for NO3-N, moisture by Karl Fischer; ISO/IEC 17025 lab practices, GB/T and AOAC methods.
• Service life: stable in bag ≈24 months; in soil solution, nitrate is plant-available immediately; Ca uptake peaks within 2–7 days (crop-dependent).
• Industries: open-field vegetables, orchard fruit, hydroponics, greenhouse floriculture, turf.

Recent in-house batch data (third-party verified): Cd

Application scenarios and advantages

Use in fertigation for tomatoes, peppers, berries; as side-dress for brassicas; and in hydroponics A/B tanks (keep it away from sulfates in the same tank—basic rule). Advantages: fast NO3-N delivery, chloride-free, improved firmness/shelf life in fruit. To be honest, many customers say they see fewer blossom-end rot incidents within a couple of weeks.

Vendor comparison (indicative)

Customization and service

Private-label bags, moisture-spec tuning (around 0.3–0.6%), and prill size tweaks are doable. Tech sheets and SDS ship with lot COAs; SGS inspections on request.

Field notes (real customers)

• Greenhouse tomato, North China: 4-week program at 150–200 ppm NO3-N lifted leaf Ca by ≈9% (SPAD steady), fruit cracking down noticeably.
• Strawberry, coastal farm: switched to agro chemical fertilizers based on calcium nitrate in early fruit set; shelf life improved by ~1 day—small win, big smiles.
• Hydroponic lettuce: using separate A/B tanks (nitrates in A, sulfates in B) eliminated precipitate; emitters stayed clean.

Trends and practical tips

Sustainability isn’t just a buzzword; nitrate forms allow precise dosing to curb losses. However, always monitor EC and leaching—good fertigation practice beats any label claim. For stacking with other agro chemical fertilizers, keep phosphates/sulfates in a separate stock tank to avoid gypsum-like fallout.

Citations:

1. FAO Fertilizer and Plant Nutrition Bulletin – Nutrient management in fertigation. https://www.fao.org
2. ISO/IEC 17025: Testing and calibration laboratories – general requirements. https://www.iso.org
3. ECHA REACH guidance for substances used in fertilizers. https://echa.europa.eu
4. AOAC Official Methods for nitrogen and moisture determination. https://www.aoac.org