ABSORPTION OF P BY CORN (Zea mays L.) AS INFLUENCED BY SOIL DISTURBANCE

Abstract

In 1981, phosphorus absorption by young corn (Zea mays L.) plants was greater from no-till than from plowed plots with similar NaHCO3-extractable P (Ext P) concentrations. A series of growth room studies was conducted to explain this difference. Corn plants grown on cores from the no-till plots had a higher P concentration than plants grown on soil from the plowed plots, in spite of a lower root growth and a lower Ext P content. Disturbance of the no-till soil eliminated the effect. A parameter, accessible P (Acc-P), was calculated from root length and Ext P assuming P was absorbed from a cylinder of soil around each root. Shoot P content at a given Acc-P content was always higher with the undisturbed no-till soil than with either the disturbed no-till or the plowed soil. Irradiation (γ-ray) of the no-till soil reduced P absorption by a similar degree to disturbance, indicating that a biological factor was involved. Disturbance of soil had no influence on P content of canola (Brassica napus L.), a nonmycorrhizal crop. Soil disturbance reduced the intensity of mycorrhizal infection in corn roots. It is hypothesized that disturbance of the no-till soil reduced P absorption by reducing the effectiveness of the mycorrhizal symbiosis. Key words: No-till, corn, P absorption, mycorrhizae