The effect of chemical fertilizer, and bioorganic-phosphate on the P-available, P-uptake, P-residue and the yield of soybean

Abstract

The availability and the residue of phosphate in soil are influenced by the addition of phosphorus (P) fertilizer and its uptake by plant. The addition of P fertilizer also commonly affects the plant yield. This research is aimed to assess the effect of chemical fertilizer and bioorganic-phosphate on the P-available and P-residue in soil, P-uptake by plant, and the yield of soybean. Field experiment was carried out in a Vertisol of South Lombok, Indonesia, which consisted of four treatments arranged in a randomized complete block design and replicated five times. The four treatments were P0 = control, P1 = bioorganic-phosphate + 125 kg PHONSKA ha−1, P2 = bioorganic-phosphate + 187.5 kg PHONSKA ha−1, and P3 = 250 kg PHONSKA ha−1. The P2 treatment resulted the highest P-available and P-residue in soil, the highest P-uptake by plant, and the highest yield of soybean. Meanwhile, the effect P1 and P3 on all parameters were not significantly different. There is a strong positive correlation (r = 0.97) between P-uptake by plant and the yield of soybean. As the P2 treatment produced the highest yield of soybean, and the yield at the P1 is relatively the same as P3, this indicates that the application of bioorganic-phosphate can reduce the dose of chemical fertilizer by up to 50%.