Many agricultural soils worldwide in their natural state are deficient in phosphorus (P), and the production of healthy agricultural crops has required the regular addition of P fertilisers. In cropping systems, P accumulates almost predominantly in inorganic forms in soil, associated with aluminium, calcium and iron. In pasture soils, P accumulates in both inorganic and organic forms, but the chemical nature of much organic P is still unresolved. The P use efficiency (PUE) of fertilisers is generally low in the year of application, but residual effectiveness is important, highlighting the importance of soil P testing prior to fertiliser use. With increasing costs of P fertiliser, various technologies have been suggested to improve PUE, but few have provided solid field evidence for efficacy. Fluid fertilisers have been demonstrated under field conditions to increase PUE on highly calcareous soils. Slow release P products have been demonstrated to improve PUE in soils where leaching is important. Modification of soil chemistry around the fertiliser granule or fluid injection point also offers promise for increasing PUE, but is less well validated. Better placement of P, even into subsoils, also offers promise to increase PUE in both cropping and pasture systems. AbbreviationsDAP diammonium phosphate DCPD dicalcium phosphate dihydrate EDTA ethylenediamine tetraacetate MAP monoammonium phosphate MCP monocalcium phosphate NMR nuclear magnetic resonance OM organic matter P phosphorus P i inorganic P P o organic P PUE P use efficiency RPR reactive phosphate rock TSP triple superphosphate XANES x-ray absorption near-edge structure Plant Soil (

This study was performed to determine the forms of P and to examine the influence of oven-drying on P forms in different organic amendments. Samples of biosolids, beef and dairy cattle manures, and hog manures from sow and nursery barns were used in this study. Both fresh and oven-dried amendments were analyzed for inorganic (Pi), organic (Po), and total phosphorus using a modified Hedley fractionation technique. Water extracted about 10% of total biosolids P and 30 to 40% of total hog and cattle manure P. The amount of P extracted by NaHCO3 ranged from 21 to 32% of total P in all organic amendments except in the dairy cattle manure with 45% of total P. The labile P fraction (sum of H2O- and NaHCO3-extractable P) was 24% of biosolids P, 60% of hog manure P, and 70% of dairy cattle manure P. The residual P was about 10% in biosolids and cattle manures and 5 to 8% in hog manures. Oven-drying caused a transformation in forms of P in the organic amendments. In hog manures, H2O-extractable Po was transformed to Pi, while in the dairy manure NaHCO3-extractable P was converted to H2O-extractable Pi with oven-drying. Therefore, caution should be exercised in using oven-drying for studies that evaluate forms of P in organic amendments. Overall, these results indicate that biosolids P may be less susceptible to loss by water when added to agricultural land.

The chemical forms of phosphorus in organic amendments are essential variables for proper management of these amendments for agro-environmental purposes. This study was performed to elucidate the forms of phosphorus in various organic amendments using state-of-the-art spectroscopic techniques. Anaerobically digested biosolids (BIO), hog (HOG), dairy (DAIRY), beef (BEEF), and poultry (POULTRY) manures were subjected to sequential extraction. The extracts and residues after extraction were analyzed by solution (31)P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and synchrotron-based P 1s X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopies, respectively. Most of the total P analyzed by inductively coupled plasma- optical emission spectroscopy in the sequential extracts of organic amendments was orthophosphate, except POULTRY, which was dominated by organic P. The labile P fraction in all the organic amendments, excluding POULTRY, was mainly orthophosphate from readily soluble calcium and some aluminum phosphates. In the poultry litter, Ca phytate was the main P species controlling P solubility. The recalcitrant fraction of BIO was mainly associated with Al and Fe. Those of HOG, DAIRY, and POULTRY were calcium phytate, which were identified only as organic species in the XANES spectra. The combination of the three techniques-sequential chemical extraction, solution (31)P NMR spectroscopy, and P 1s XANES-provided molecular characterization of P in organic amendments that would not have been possible with just one or a combination of any two of these techniques. Therefore, P speciation of organic amendments should use solid-phase and aqueous speciation techniques as deemed feasible.

Ige, D. V., Akinremi, O. O., Flaten, D. M., Ajiboye, B. and Kashem, M. A. 2005. Phosphorus sorption capacity of alkaline Manitoba soils and its relationship to soil properties. Can. J. Soil Sci. 85: [417][418][419][420][421][422][423][424][425][426]. The establishment of the P retention capacity of soil in Manitoba is essential for effective management of P in the region. However, the methods for determining the P retention capacity for neutral to calcareous soils in the Eastern Prairies are not well developed. The objectives of this study were to determine the P retention capacity of Manitoba soils and to generate equations that relate these capacities to other soil properties. One hundred and fifteen archived surface soils were selected and their physico-chemical properties were measured. These soils were used to generate a single-point P adsorption index by equilibrating 2 g of soil in 20 mL of 0.01 M KCl solution containing either 150 (P 150 ) or 400 (P 400 ) mg P L -1 . A subset of 26 of these soils was used for multipoint isotherms with P concentrations in the range of 0-1000 mg P L -1 . The data obtained were fitted to the Langmuir isotherm and the adsorption indices were correlated with the various soil properties that were then used to developed predictive equations of the P retention capacity of the soil. The values of the adsorption index, P 150, obtained from the single point adsorption study using 150 mg P L -1 , ranged between 88 and 891 mg P kg -1 , while that of P 400 ranged between 100 and 1250 mg P kg -1 . A better correlation was obtained between P 150 and soil properties compared with P 400 . For the 26 soil subset, the adsorption indices, S max 1 to S max 6, obtained from the Langmuir isotherm, ranged from 300 to 1330 mg kg -1 . A good correlation was obtained between the single point index and the multipoint isotherm (r = 0.93). Hence, S max for the 115 soils was estimated from the relationship between P 150 and S max 3 of the 26 soils. The best relationships between the adsorption parameters, P 150 and S max , and the soil properties were obtained with the sum of Mehlich-3 extractable Ca and Mg (R 2 = 0.66) and the sum of exchangeable Ca and Mg (R 2 = 0.64). Mehlich-3-Ca and -Mg each explained 56% of the variation, while clay content explained 40% of the variation in the P retention capacity of these soils. Unlike the widely reported influence of Al and Fe in acid soils, our study showed that the retention of P in Manitoba soils was influenced more by Ca and Mg and soil texture. Pour bien gérer l'utilisation du P au Manitoba, il est essentiel de connaître la capacité de rétention des sols. Malheureusement, les méthodes permettant de déterminer cette dernière dans les sols neutres ou calcaires de l'est des Prairies ne sont pas très développées. L'étude devait établir la capacité de rétention du P de ces sols au Manitoba et produire des équations reliant cette capacité à d'autres propriétés du sol. Les auteurs ont sélectionné 115 sols de surface en archive et mesuré leurs propriétés physicoc...

Aim Biofortification of wheat with zinc (Zn) through foliar Zn application has been proposed as an agronomic strategy to increase grain Zn concentration, which could serve as a nutritional intervention in regions with dietary Zn deficiency. Methods Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) was biofortified through foliar Zn applications at different growth stages. The concentration of Zn and associated micronutrient in harvested whole grains was determined by ICP-OES. Synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence microscopy (XFM) was then used to investigate the localization of Zn and associated micronutrients in cross sections of these grains. Results The concentration of Zn and other micronutrients (Mn, Fe, and Cu) was higher in grains treated with foliar Zn during grain-filling (early milk/dough) than those treated at stem elongation. The increase in Zn concentration of wheat grain with foliar application during grain-filling can be attributed to the intense localization of Zn in the aleurone layer, modified aleurone, crease tissue, vascular bundle, and endosperm cavity, and to a modest localization in endosperm, which is the most dominant grain tissue. These tissues and the Zn they contain are presumed to remain after milling and can potentially increase the Zn concentration in wheat flour. Conclusions By using XFM, it was shown that foliar Zn spray represents an important agronomic tool for a substantial Zn enrichment of different fractions of wheat grain, especially the endosperm. Further investigation of the chemical speciation of Zn in the endosperm is recommended to assess Zn bioavailability in harvested whole grain of wheat that has been biofortified through different timing of foliar Zn application.