GRIGGS v. DUKE POWER CO., (1971) No. 124 Argued: December 14, 1970 Decided: March 8, 1971
Ammonium Nitrate and fertilizers. Ammonium Nitrate is generally used as a fertilizer. It is actually sold in the form of pellets that are coated with clay. The reason why it is very popular in agriculture is because of the high nitrogen amount in this compound.
Ammonium nitrogen absorbed by the root is converted in the roots to amino acids. This occurs because ammonium is actually toxic to the plant, and in order to prevent the ammonium causing problems, it has to be converted to some non-toxic form immediately. In this case it is converted to very simple amino acids.