FprEN 12944-1

• Abstract:

  This document defines the general terms used in the production, sampling and marketing of fertilizers, liming materials and inhibitors.

• Status: Not Published
• Publication Date: 13-Jan-2027
• ICS: 01.040.65 - Agriculture (Vocabularies)
• Technical Committee: CEN/TC 260 - Fertilizers and liming materials
• Drafting Committee: CEN/TC 260/WG 1 - Sampling
• Current Stage: 5020 - Submission to Vote - Formal Approval
• Start Date: 24-Sep-2026
• Due Date: 23-Sep-2026
• Completion Date: 24-Sep-2026
• Directive: 2019/1009 - Regulation (EU) 2019/1009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 laying down rules on the making available on the market of EU fertilising products and amending Regulations (EC) No 1069/2009 and (EC) No 1107/2009 and repealing Regulation (EC) No 2003/2003 (Text with EEA relevance)
• Ref Project: oSIST prEN 12944-1:2026 - Fertilizers, liming materials and inhibitors - Vocabulary - Part 1: General terms

• Revises: EN 12944-1:1999/AC:2000 - Fertilizers and liming materials - Vocabulary - Part 1: General terms
• Effective Date: 25-Jun-2025
• Revises: EN 12944-1:1999 - Fertilizers and liming materials and soil improvers - Vocabulary - Part 1: General terms
• Effective Date: 18-Jan-2023

FprEN 12944-1 is a draft European Standard from CEN for the vocabulary of fertilizers, liming materials and inhibitors. It defines the general terms used in production, sampling and marketing so manufacturers, laboratories, inspectors and buyers can use the same language. The document is submitted for enquiry and is subject to change.

What does FprEN 12944-1 specify?

FprEN 12944-1 specifies the general terms used in the production, sampling and marketing of fertilizers, liming materials and inhibitors. It is a terminology document, so its main job is to fix meanings and preferred terms rather than to set product performance limits.

The document is organized into Clause 1 Scope, Clause 2 Normative references, and Clause 3 Terms and definitions. Clause 3 is split into seven topic groups, covering general terms, fertilization, types of fertilizers, nutrients, additions to fertilizers, physical properties, and sampling, storing and delivery. Annex A provides an index, and the bibliography lists related standards and documents.

What are the key requirements of FprEN 12944-1?

FprEN 12944-1 standardizes how the fertilizer sector names products, nutrient content, product forms and sampling steps. In practice, that helps labels, technical files, contracts and test reports use the same terminology.

Core product and label terms

Clause 3.1 defines the central business terms, including fertilizing product, fertilizer unit, nutrient formula, declarable content, declaration, nutrient ratio, guarantee and liming material. These terms matter because they are the basis for describing what a product is, what it contains and what can be stated on a label or document.

The document also distinguishes between a general fertilizer and a fertilizing product, and it gives a preferred term for liming material. For a reader, this reduces ambiguity in product descriptions and avoids mixing technical language with marketing language.

Fertilization and nutrient behavior

Clause 3.2 defines fertilization, application, application rate, availability, soil fertility, solubility of a fertilizer nutrient and mineralization. These terms support decisions on how a product is used, how much is applied, and how its nutrients become available to plants or mushrooms.

That matters in practice for field instructions, trial work and product comparisons. If two products are compared, these definitions help separate how they are used from how fast their nutrients can be taken up.

Fertilizer types and additives

Clause 3.3 sets out the main product classes, including inorganic fertilizer, organic fertilizer, organo-mineral fertilizer, mineral fertilizer, straight fertilizer, compound fertilizer, complex fertilizer, chelated fertilizer, blended fertilizer, foliar fertilizer, slow-release fertilizer, controlled-release fertilizer and nitrophosphate fertilizer. It also defines additive, filler, inhibitor, urease inhibitor, nitrification inhibitor and denitrification inhibitor.

These distinctions matter because the same product family can behave very differently in use and in declaration. For example, the document separates release-control mechanisms from nutrient content and identifies inhibitor types by their effect on nitrogen transformations.

Nutrient naming

Clause 3.4 defines plant nutrient, primary nutrient, secondary nutrient, macronutrient, micronutrient and non-nutrient element. The practical value is that the standard fixes what counts as a nutrient category and what does not, which supports labeling, product comparison and specification writing.

Physical form and sampling chain

Clause 3.6 defines solid form, liquid form, physical unit, granular fertilizer, granulation, prilled fertilizer, pelletized fertilizer, liquid fertilizer, solution fertilizer, suspension fertilizer, powdered fertilizer, coated fertilizer, particle size and particle size analysis by sieving. Clause 3.7 defines the sampling and delivery chain, including batch, sampling point, sampling unit, incremental sample, combined sample, reduced sample, final sample, laboratory sample, test sample, test portion, bulk, bulk material, bulk blend, packaging, package, big bag, consignment and delivery.

These terms are important because sampling only works when everyone agrees what was taken, from where, and at what stage of reduction. That affects laboratory accuracy, traceability and dispute resolution.

What terms does FprEN 12944-1 define?

• fertilizing product - a substance, mixture, micro-organism or other material applied to plants, their rhizosphere, mushrooms or their mycosphere to provide nutrients or improve nutrition efficiency.
• liming material - a mineral substance or mixture used mainly to correct soil acidity and improve soil properties, containing calcium and/or magnesium compounds.
• nutrient formula - the declared mass fraction pattern for nutrients in a compound fertilizer, expressed in a defined order.
• controlled-release fertilizer - a fertilizer designed so nutrient release follows a stated release rate and release time at a specified temperature.
• batch - the total quantity of product assumed to have the same characteristics and produced under the same conditions.
• combined sample - the aggregate of all incremental samples taken from one sampled portion.
• laboratory sample - the final sample intended for laboratory testing, or, for microbiological testing, each separate segment sample intended for laboratory testing.

Who uses FprEN 12944-1?

FprEN 12944-1 is used by fertilizer and liming material manufacturers when writing product descriptions, labels and technical documentation. It is also used by laboratories and sampling teams when preparing samples for chemical, physical or microbiological testing.

Quality managers, regulatory teams and buyers use the document to align specifications, declarations and contracts. It is relevant across the fertilizer supply chain, including products sold in bulk, packages and big bags.

What changed in FprEN 12944-1 from the previous edition?

The foreword says this draft will supersede EN 12944-1:1999 and EN 12944-1:1999/AC:2000. It also states that, compared with the previous edition:

• the scope was extended to include inhibitors;
• the definitions were reviewed, amended and extended in light of new legislation and other European and international standards;
• new terms were added for fertilizing products, nutrient formulas, liming materials, fertilizer types, chelating and complexing agents, blends, release-control products, nutrient classes, inhibitors, physical forms, particle size analysis, sampling stages, bulk and packaging terms;
• the term soil improver was deleted.

Which standards are used with FprEN 12944-1?

FprEN 12944-1 has no normative references in Clause 2, but it is written alongside several related standards named in the foreword, introduction and bibliography.

Standard	What it contributes
EN 12944-3	Vocabulary for terms relating to liming materials
EN 1482-1	General sampling provisions for fertilizers, liming materials and inhibitors
EN 1482-3	Sampling of static heaps
EN 1482-4	Sampling for microbial presence
EN 17836	Description of the forms of the physical unit
ISO 8157	Broader fertilizer, soil conditioner and beneficial substance vocabulary
EN 13535	Classification of fertilizers and liming materials
CEN/TS 17732	Vocabulary for soil improvers and growing media
EN 17724	Vocabulary for plant biostimulants

What does the FprEN 12944-1 document contain?

The document contains a structured vocabulary set covering general terms, fertilization, fertilizer types, nutrients, additives, physical forms, and sampling, storing and delivery. Annex A, Table A.1 gives an index of all defined terms in English, French and German, with clause references for fast lookup.

The bibliography links the vocabulary to classification, sampling, physical-form description and related terminology standards. In practice, that makes the document useful for drafting specifications, lab methods, sampling plans, labels and delivery documents without changing the meanings of the terms.

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-marec-2026
Gnojila, sredstva za apnjenje in inhibitorji - Slovar - 1. del: Splošni izrazi
Fertilizers, liming materials and inhibitors - Vocabulary - Part 1: General terms
Düngemittel und Calcium-/Magnesium-Bodenverbesserungsmittel - Wörterbuch - Teil 1:
Allgemeine Begriffe
Engrais et amendements calciques et/ou magnésiens - Vocabulaire - Partie 1: Termes
généraux
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: prEN 12944-1
ICS:
01.040.65 Kmetijstvo (Slovarji) Agriculture (Vocabularies)
65.080 Gnojila Fertilizers
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

DRAFT
EUROPEAN STANDARD
prEN 12944-1
NORME EUROPÉENNE
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
January 2026
ICS 01.040.65 Will supersede EN 12944-1:1999
English Version
Fertilizers, liming materials and inhibitors - Vocabulary -
Part 1: General terms
Engrais, amendements minéraux basiques et Düngemittel, Kalkdünger und Hemmstoffe - Begriffe -
inhibiteurs - Vocabulaire - Partie 1: Termes généraux Teil 1: Allgemeine Begriffe
This draft European Standard is submitted to CEN members for enquiry. It has been drawn up by the Technical Committee
CEN/TC 260.
If this draft becomes a European Standard, CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations
which stipulate the conditions for giving this European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration.

This draft European Standard was established by CEN in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other
language made by translation under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC
Management Centre has the same status as the official versions.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway,
Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and
United Kingdom.
Recipients of this draft are invited to submit, with their comments, notification of any relevant patent rights of which they are
aware and to provide supporting documentation.

Warning : This document is not a European Standard. It is distributed for review and comments. It is subject to change without
notice and shall not be referred to as a European Standard.

EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION

EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG

CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Rue de la Science 23, B-1040 Brussels
© 2026 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. prEN 12944-1:2026 E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

prEN 12944-1 (E)
Contents Page
European foreword . 3
Introduction . 4
1 Scope . 5
2 Normative references . 5
3 Terms and definitions . 5
3.1 General terms . 5
3.2 Terms related to fertilization . 6
3.3 Types of fertilizers . 7
3.4 Terms related to nutrients . 10
3.5 Additions to fertilizers . 10
3.6 Physical properties of fertilizers . 11
3.7 Sampling, storing and delivery of fertilizers . 13
Annex A (informative) Index . 17
Bibliography . 20
prEN 12944-1 (E)
European foreword
This document (prEN 12944-1:2026) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 260
“Fertilizers and liming materials”, the secretariat of which is held by DIN.
This document is currently submitted to the CEN Enquiry.
This document will supersede EN 12994-1:1999 and EN 12944-1:1999/AC:2000.
In comparison with the previous edition, the following technical mödificatiöns have been made:
— Scope extended to include inhibitors;
— Définitiöns reviewed, amended and extended where appropriate in light of new legislation,
international and other European standards;
— Inclusion of the following terms: fertilizing product, nutrient formula, liming material, inorganic
macronutrient fertilizer, chelating agent, complexing agent, fertilizing product blend, controlled-
release fertilizer, macronutrient, urease inhibitor, nitrificatiön inhibitor, solid form, liquid form,
physical unit, powdered fertilizer, particle size analysis by sieving/granulometry by sieving, batch,
sampling point, sampling unit, sub-sample, division, reduction, segment, segment sample,
incremental sample, combined sample, reduced sample, final sample, sampled portion, laboratory
sample, test sample, test portion, static heap, bulk material, packaging, package, consignment,
delivery;
— The term soil improver was deleted.
This document has been prepared under a standardization request addressed to CEN by the European
Commission. The Standing Committee of the EFTA States subsequently approves these requests for its
Member States.
EN 12944, Fertilizers, liming materials and inhibitors — Vocabulary, currently consists of the
following parts:
— Part 1: General terms.
— Part 2: Terms relating to fertilizers.
— Part 3: Terms relating to liming materials.
These définitiöns do not necessarily correspond with those used in national legislation.
NOTE A classificatiön scheme for fertilizers and liming materials is given in EN 13535 [1] .
prEN 12944-1 (E)
Introduction
Fertilizers, liming materials and inhibitors are définéd in Regulation (EU) 2019/1009 [2].
Other vocabulary standards relating to soil improvers and growing media (CEN/TS 17732 [3]) and plant
biostimulants (EN 17724 [4]) are available.
An index of all terms définéd in this part of the EN 12944 series is given in Annex A, Table A.1 in English,
French and German.
prEN 12944-1 (E)
1 Scope
This document définés the general terms used in the production, sampling and marketing of fertilizers,
liming materials and inhibitors.
2 Normative references
There are no normative references in this document.
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and définitiöns apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminology databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at http://www.iso.org/obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at http://www.electropedia.org/
3.1 General terms
3.1.1
fertilizer
product the main function of which is to provide nutrients to plants or mushrooms
Note 1 to entry: Based on Regulation (EU) 2019/1009, Annex I, Part II, PFC 1 [2].
3.1.2
fertilizing product
substance, mixture, micro-organism or any other material, applied or intended to be applied on plants
or their rhizosphere or on mushrooms or their mycosphere, or intended to constitute the rhizosphere
or mycosphere, either on its own or mixed with other material, for the purpose of providing the plants
or mushrooms with nutrient or improving their nutrition éfficiéncy
Note 1 to entry: Based on Regulation (EU) 2019/1009, Chapter 1, Article 2, point (1) [2].
3.1.3
fertilizer unit
unit mass of a fertilizer nutrient expressed in the form of the element or an oxide
Note 1 to entry: The unit is generally the kilogram.
3.1.4
nutrient formula
mass fraction expressed as a percentage as element or oxide, in the order nitrogen: phosphorus:
potassium: secondary nutrients and micro-nutrients, of the respective content of these nutrients in a
compound fertilizer
Note 1 to entry: A zero may be used to indicate the absence of an element.
[SOURCE: ISO 8157:2022 [5], 3.1.37 - mödifiéd: "primary" from "primary nutrient formula" removed
and définitiön replaced with Note 1]
3.1.5
declarable content
that content of an element (or an oxide) which can be declared on a label or document associated with
a fertilizing product
[SOURCE: ISO 8157:2022 [5], 3.1.38 – mödifiéd: given changed to declared]
prEN 12944-1 (E)
3.1.6
declaration
statement of the nutrient content or other information
[SOURCE: ISO 8157:2022 [5], 3.1.39]
3.1.7
nutrient ratio
ratio by mass of the primary nutrients in the fertilizer, expressed in the form of the element or an oxide,
in the order of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium
Note 1 to entry: The ratio can be based on nitrogen as unity or on the nutrient with the lowest proportion.
[SOURCE: ISO 8157:2022 [5], 3.1.43]
3.1.8
guarantee
guarantee of composition
quantitative and/or qualitative characteristics with which a marketed product complies to satisfy
contractual and/or legal requirements
3.1.9
liming material
agricultural lime
mineral substances and mixtures whose main function is to correct soil acidity improving physical,
chemical and biological soil properties and which contains either oxides, hydroxides, carbonates, or
silicates of the nutrients calcium and/or magnesium
Note 1 to entry: The terms “lime” and “liming soil amendment” are also used, but “liming material” is the preferred
term.
[SOURCE: EN 12944-3:2025 [6], 3.1.20]
3.2 Terms related to fertilization
3.2.1
fertilization
aspects of the use of fertilizing products to improve crop growth and soil fertility and structure
[SOURCE: ISO 8157:2022 [5], 3.1.29 – mödifiéd: Note 1 to entry removed]
3.2.2
application
general term for all processes of administering fertilizers, liming materials and inhibitors to a crop or
soil or both
Note 1 to entry: This term embraces broadcasting, spreading/spraying or dusting, as well as more spécific
placement methods including injection into the soil and the combined drilling of seed and fertilizer. It may be
broadened to cover nutrient film techniques (foliar application) and the addition of fertilizers to irrigation water
(fertigation).
3.2.3
application rate
dose rate
mass or volume of a fertilizer, liming material, inhibitor or nutrient applied to a unit area or the unit
mass or unit volume of growth medium
prEN 12944-1 (E)
3.2.4
availability
extent to which fertilizer nutrients can be taken up by plants and mushrooms
[SOURCE: ISO 8157:2022 [5], 3.1.61 – mödifiéd: mushrooms added]
3.2.5
soil fertility
ability of a soil to support and ensure plant growth
[SOURCE: ISO 8157:2022 [5], 3.1.28]
3.2.6
solubility of a fertilizer nutrient
mass or volume of a given nutrient which is extracted by a spécific medium under spécifiéd conditions
Note 1 to entry: Expressed as a percentage by mass or volume of the fertilizer.
[SOURCE: ISO 8157:2022 [5], 3.1.33]
3.2.7
mineralization
microbial breakdown releasing nutrients from organic matter, making them available to plants and
mushrooms for uptake
3.3 Types of fertilizers
3.3.1
inorganic fertilizer
fertilizer containing or releasing nutrients in a mineral form, other than an organic or organo-mineral
fertilizer
Note 1 to entry: The terms “mineral fertilizer” and “chemical fertilizer” are also used but “inorganic fertilizer” is
preferred.
Note 2 to entry: An inorganic fertilizer can be labelled as mineral fertilizer if the inorganic fertilizer complies with
Regulation (EU) 2019/1009, Annex III, Part II, PFC 1, point 4 [2].
Note 3 to entry: Based on Regulation (EU) 2019/1009, Annex I, Part II, PFC 1(C), point 1 [2].
3.3.2
inorganic macronutrient fertilizer
fertilizer aiming at providing plants or mushrooms with one or more primary macronutrients and/or
secondary macronutrients
Note 1 to entry: Primary macronutrients: nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K); secondary macronutrients:
calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na), sulphur (S).
Note 2 to entry: Based on Regulation (EU) 2019/1009, Annex I, Part II, PFC 1(C)(I) point 1 [2]
[SOURCE: EN 17836:2024 [7], 3.5]
prEN 12944-1 (E)
3.3.3
organic fertilizer
fertilizer containing organic carbon and nutrients of solely biological origin
Note 1 to entry: An organic fertilizer may contain peat, leonardite and lignite, but no other material, which is
fossilized or embedded in geological formations.
Note 2 to entry: Based on Regulation (EU) 2019/1009, Annex I, Part II, PFC 1(A), point 1 [2].
3.3.3.1
organic nitrogenous fertilizer
organic fertilizer of biological origin in which the declarable nitrogen content is bonded directly to
carbon and which can contain other elements, but which does not have a declarable phosphorus or
potassium content
[SOURCE: ISO 8157:2022 [5], 3.1.7 – mödifiéd: materials changed to organic fertilizer]
3.3.3.2
synthetic organic nitrogenous fertilizer
nitrogenous fertilizer in which the nitrogen is combined with carbon by industrial organic synthesis
3.3.4
organo-mineral fertilizer
fertilizer, which is a co-formulation of one or more inorganic fertilizer (3.3.1), and one or more materials
containing organic carbon and nutrients of solely biological origin
Note 1 to entry: An organo-mineral fertilizer may contain peat, leonardite and lignite, but no other material, which
is fossilized or embedded in geological formations.
Note 2 to entry: Based on Regulation (EU) 2019/1009, Annex I, Part II, PFC 1(B), point 1 [2].
3.3.5
mineral fertilizer
inorganic fertilizer containing not more than 1 % by mass of organic carbon
Note 1 to entry: This définitiön does not depict all legal requirements and is based on Regulation (EU) 2019/1009,
Annex III, Part II, PFC 1, point 4 [2].
3.3.6
straight fertilizer
macronutrient fertilizer having a declared content of more than one primary macronutrient or more
than one secondary macronutrient and no primary macronutrient or an inorganic micronutrient
fertilizer having a declared content of more than one micronutrient
Note 1 to entry: Based on Regulation (EU) 2019/1009, Annex I, Part II: PFC 1(C)(I)(a)(ii), point 1; PFC (C)(I)(b)
(ii), point 1 and PFC 1(C)(II)(b), point 1 [2].
3.3.7
compound fertilizer
macronutrient fertilizer having a declared content of more than one primary macronutrient or more
than one secondary macronutrient and no primary macronutrient or an inorganic micronutrient
fertilizer having a declared content of more than one micronutrient
Note 1 to entry: Based on Regulation (EU) 2019/1009, Annex I, Part II: PFC 1(C)(I)(a)(ii), point 1; PFC (C)(I)(b)
(ii), point 1 and PFC 1(C)(II)(b), point 1 [2].
3.3.8
complex fertilizer
solid inorganic macronutrient fertilizer in which each physical unit contains all the declared nutrients
in their declared content
Note 1 to entry: Based on Regulation (EU) 2019/1009, Annex III, Part II, PFC 1(C)(I)(a)(ii), point 1 [2].
prEN 12944-1 (E)
3.3.9
chelated fertilizer
fertilizer in which one or more nutrients are bonded by chelating agents
[SOURCE: ISO 8157:2022 [5], 3.1.27]
3.3.10
chelating agent
organic molecule having two or more sites that donate electron pairs to a central metal cation and is
large enough to form a fivé- or six-membered ring structure
EXAMPLE        EDTA, NTA (nitrile-triacetic acid) and IDHA (iminodiscuccinic acid)
[SOURCE: ISO 8157:2022 [5], 3.1.27.3]
3.3.11
complexing agent
organic substance forming a flat or steric structure with one di- or tri-valent transition metal cation
Note 1 to entry: Based on Regulation (EU) 2019/1009, Annex II, Part II, CMC 1, point 3(b) [2].
3.3.12
fertilizing product blend
mix of at least two of the fertilizing products: fertilizer, liming material, soil improver, growing media,
inhibitor and plant biostimulant
Note 1 to entry: Based
...