Which of two chemicals would be the better fertilizer?

Question

Farmers use fertilizers mainly to replace depleted nutrients in the soil. Liquid ammonia and ammonium nitrate are two substances that are used to replace essential nitrogen in the soil. Based on the percentage of nitrogen by mass, which of these two chemicals would be the better fertilizers? Assume that the cost of per kilogram of each chemical is about the same.

Answer 1

Ammonia has a much higher percentage of Nitrogen per mole.

But which would be the better fertilizer has to depend on more than percentage of nitrogen.

Ammonia is typically in a gas form and might kill a lot of the bacteria that are in the soil.  While that might provide more nitrogen it could also create an imbalance in the soil bacteria flora and cause growth problems if the cash crop were in a symbiotic relationship with the bacteria.

Experimentation would have to be conducted to see which would be the more effective fertilizer.  Ammonia Nitrate has been the fertilizer of choice for many years and only recently, since the Oklahoma Bombing, as been brought under strict federal regulation.  Every bulk quantity of it has to be registered as to who is buying it to prevent it from being used by terrorists.  Ammonia doesn't have that capability to be used to blow things up so there may be some push to have farmers adopt it as a fertilizer.  I think the farmers should decide which is a better fertilizer.