Comparing the phosphorus use efficiency of pre-treated (organically) rock phosphate with soluble P fertilizers in maize under calcareous soils

Abstract

In calcareous soils, phosphorus (P) availability to plant is impaired due to the formation of insoluble complexes with calcium and magnesium. Therefore, this study was executed to compare the P use efficiency (PUE) of four different P sources [rock phosphate (RP), acidulated rock phosphate (ARP), single super phosphate (SSP) and di ammonium phosphate (DAP)] alone or pre-treated with organic amendments (farm yard manure (FYM) enriched compost, simple compost and humic acid (HA)) along with control in maize crop under calcareous soils. All treatments irrespective of P sources received 90 kg P2O5 ha−1. Phosphorus application regardless of its sources and combination with organic amendments significantly improved maize growth, yield as well as P uptake and PUE. Rock phosphate when applied alone was recorded inferior but its performance significantly improved with compost or its pre-addition with FYM and HA, that further enhanced upon acidulation. Maize grain yield increased by 21, 22.2, 67.9 and 94% with RP, ARP, ARP enriched compost and ARP+ compost respectively, over control. Similarly, PUE of DAP improved from 31.7 to 43.1 and 39 with sample and enriched compost correspondingly. Post-harvest soil and grain P were at par for SSP, ARP and DAP alone or in conjugation with organic amendments when averaged across the amendments. These results suggested that pretreatment of P sources with organic amendments is an economical and more feasible approach to improve maize yield and PUE. Moreover, on-farm acidulation of RP may give at par results with SSP and DAP with cheaper rate and hence recommended for P management in maize in alkaline calcareous soils.

Rock Phosphate Solubilizing Potential of Soil Microorganisms: Advances in Sustainable Crop Production

“…Under these conditions, the enrichment of RP with water-soluble phosphate fertilizers with a ratio of 50:50 increases the agricultural and economic effectiveness of igneous RP in developing countries. However, the agricultural effectiveness of the rich fertilizers produced compared to the water-soluble phosphorus fertilizers depends on a number of factors mentioned in the partially acidic RP [68]. During the field experiments, Missouri RP and simple superphosphate were prepared in a ratio of 2.2:1 and added to the soil at three fertilizer levels.…”