Phosphorus fertilization with enhanced efficiency in soybean and corn crops

Abstract

Due to the low natural availability of phosphorus (P) in tropical soils and the plant’s need for P, the use of phosphorus fertilizers of increased efficiency is an important tool for achieving high yields. The aims of this study were to evaluate plant growth, foliar P content and yield of soybean and corn crops in different seasons and places in response to P rates and sources. The sources of P were monoammonium phosphate (MAP) and Policote coated MAP (Policote+MAP). Field experiments were carried out comparing MAP performance compared to Policote coated MAP (MAP+Policote), an additive based on water soluble polymers. Experiments formed by P sources (MAP including 11% N, 52% P2O5 and MAP+Policote including 10% N, 49% P2O5) and rates were carried out in soybean and corn crops in different dates and sites. In the soybean crop, a (2x4) +1 factorial was used, comprising of two sources such as MAP and MAP+Policote and four rates of P (30, 60, 90 and 120 kg ha-1 of P2O5), besides the control. For corn, a (2x5) factorial was used, including two sources and five rates of P (0, 40, 80, 120 and 160 kg ha-1 of P2O5). The results showed that phosphorus fertilization would increase soybean and corn plant heights and yields in different seasons and places. Soybean and corn yield and agronomic phosphorus use efficiency were higher with Policote coated phosphorus fertilizer than with conventional phosphorus fertilizer. Policote coated phosphorus fertilizer can be used as an enhanced efficiency fertilizer because it increased soybean and corn yields in different seasons and places.

Enhanced-Efficiency Phosphorous Fertilizer Impacts on Corn and Common Bean Crops and Soil Phosphorus Diffusion

“…Higher crop yields with P enhanced fertilizer were also reported by Sanders et al (2012) and Noor et al (2018). Higher corn yields with Policote coated P fertilizer were also reported by Pela et al (2019) and Zanão et al (2020). Coating of phosphatic fertilizers with the polymer is an innovative option to improve phosphorus use efficiency (Noor et al, 2017).…”

“…A similar strategy could be applied with additives of iron and aluminum affinity, elements responsible for P fixation in the soil because it's possible to increase fertilizer agronomic efficiency by using these additives to cover it. Increasing P fertilizer efficiency with P fertilizer coated with anionic polymers (Policote) was demonstrated P by Reis Jr and Silva (2012), Chagas et al (2015), Chagas et al (2016), Chagas et al (2017), Guelfi et al (2018), Pelá et al (2018), Pelá et al (2019), and Zanão et al (2020).…”

“…The low efficiency of P fertilization has been reported (Dorahy et al, 2008;Takahashi & Anwar, 2007;Sanders et al, 2012;Dhillon et al, 2017;Dhillon et al, 2019). It is estimated that the plants absorb only 15 to 25% of P applied via fertilizer (Zanão et al, 2020). For this reason, much of the input P fertilizer is not used by crops.…”

“…Developing new technologies to reduce P losses and increase its effectiveness is necessary to improve P management in tropical soils. For decades now, scientists and engineers have been working to understand what makes an agricultural system P efficient (Weeks Jr. & Hettiarachchi, 2019) and several strategies have been used to increase P fertilization efficiency (Zanão et al, 2020). There are a number of potential options to improve P fertilizer use efficiency by plants (McLaughlin et al, 2011;Withers et al, 2014).…”

“…These fertilizers contain aggregate technologies that control the release of nutrients or stabilize their chemical transformations in the soil, increasing their availability to the plant (Pelá et al, 2019). This type of technology has long been used in nitrogen (N) fertilizers, but its use in P fertilizers is small (Zanão et al, 2020). One of the used strategies in enhanced efficiency fertilizers is the addition of additives capable of inhibiting the transformation of nitrogen into the soil in some undesirable way (AAPFCO, 1997).…”