CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION
A. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The Philippines is one of the world’s “mega biodiversity” countries, rich in both fauna and flora, and even if we are rich in all of these, the sector of our agriculture is now facing many kinds of problems. With the big mass of population in our country which is about 101,664,929 as of Monday, February 15, 2016, based on the latest United Nations estimates, this only shows that more and more, our country’s employment and economy will be dependent in the sector of agriculture.
We all currently rely on industrial agriculture to produce the majority of the food we eat; this type of agriculture is facing problems that may threaten its future. The use of inorganic fertilizers in industrial farming also causes soil pollution. These reasons spur the researchers to undertake this study. The researchers will investigate how commercial fertilizers affect in the growth of Pechay, and the acidity of the soil.
Modern fertilizer consists of varying amounts of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). These three are believed to be essential for plants to grow, and are extracted from the soil with each harvest. This is why farmers spread fertilizer on their fields, to replace the nutrients lost. It’s certainly not the ideal and sustainable way to farm, but it’s thought to be the most efficient for large-scale farms. Strategies like crop rotation and allowing large fields to rest would cut too deep into profits that are based on quantity, opposed to quality. Earth's soil is now being depleted of nutrients at more than thirteen percent (13%) the rate it can be replaced. Not only that, but according to some, we may also be facing looming shortages of two critical fertilizer ingredients: phosphorus and potassium. (Dr. Mercola, 2013)
In order to increase productivity in supplying plants, the soil needs to be fertile with its