Jake, it is my understanding (could be wrong) that phyto is plant and zoo is animal. If I'm right, zoo feeds on phyto. Thus, phyto would be the real base of the food chain and is the most basic result of fertilization.

Maybe a more knowledgable poster can reveal just how the interaction of fertilization causes the growth of plant life.

Can the addition of an artificial chemical added to theoretically pure water cause the start of plant life? I can understand natural fertilizers causing phyto to start because I doubt that manure is ever really dead. Any biologists or chemists out there?