That plants need nutrients has been known pretty much as long as humans have been growing them, but it was not until the 1840s that Justus von Liebig identified the role of nitrogen. Subscribe now for unlimited access . Login or signup to continue reading $ 0 / $ NaN /year All articles from our website & app The digital version of Today's Paper Breaking news alerts direct to your inbox Interactive Crosswords, Sudoku and Trivia All articles from the other regional websites in your area Continue Prior to artificial fertilisers, farmers would typically use plant nutrients mainly from sources such as faeces and urine.
Then, in 1903, Norwegian scientists Kristian Birkeland and Sam Eyde built a factory to produce nitrogen fertiliser based on principles discovered by Henry Cavendish in 1784. Because the process required large amounts of energy and was inefficient, they built their factory next to a Norwegian hydroelectric power station. Although it was an advance, it wasn't viable at scale and the growing demand for nitrates during the 19th century had to be sourced by mining niter and guano deposits.
Global production of nitrogen fertiliser will continue to grow along with the demand for food. Picture Shutterstock This caused environmental devastation on islands such as Nauru, that included the destruction of bird habitats. Fortunately, nitrogen is the most abundant gas in the atmosphere and in 1909 Fritz Haber and his assistant Robert Le Rossignol discovered a more efficient way t.