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Known as the "food of grain", chemical fertilizer plays a very important role in increasing the output of agricultural products. In the meantime, its negative externalities such as soil and water environment pollutions as well as the quality and safety hazards caused to agricultural products have been revealed gradually. Taking 126 farmer households in 5 counties (districts) of Anhui Province as samples, the fertilizer application behaviors of farmer households are analyzed. Research shows that farmers applying fertilizer are generally older in age with relatively lower degree of education, inveterate farming habits and small area of cultivation. Besides, the farmer households wish to receive training and guidance on techniques of fertilization, but very few of them have attended the trainings on agricultural technology. Moreover, the individual characteristics and family factors of farmer households have a significant impact on their fertilizer application behaviors. And the degrees of impact are also different for the fertilizer applying behaviors in different stages. Therefore, improving the educational level of farmer households, strengthening the training and promotion of agricultural techniques and accelerating land transfer among farmer households will play a fundamental role in regularizing the fertilizer application behaviors of farmer households and improving the quality and safety of agricultural products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]