Abstract
Phosphorus is a major plant nutrient obtained from non-renewable phosphate rock, which is not much available in India. Over and above in this its recovery efficiency in crops hardly exceeds 15-20 per cent. Utmost care is therefore required in its use. Phosphorus applied to soil gets fixed by the formation of insoluble reaction products by reacting with Fe and Al in acid soils and with calcium in saline and alkaline soils. Two techniques used for identification of reaction products are X-ray diffraction and solubility product principle. In addition, phosphate ions are also held on Fe and Al hydroxides by anion exchange. The reaction products identified are variscite and strengite minerals in acid soils and dicalcium phosphate and hydroxy apatite in calcareous soils. Methods to increase phosphorus recovery by crops include: 1) addition of organic matter to soils; 2) addition of sulphur to compost or to ground rock phosphate or directly to soil and use of phosphorus solubilising organisms including VAM/AM along with ground rock phosphate.
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.