Free Standard AU & NZ Shipping For All Book Orders Over $80!
Register      Login
Soil Research Soil Research Society
Soil, land care and environmental research
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > SR > SR08090
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 47(1)

Plant availability of phosphorus from fluid fertiliser is maintained under soil moisture deficit in non-calcareous soils of south-eastern Australia

S. J. Officer A C , R. D. Armstrong A and R. M. Norton B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Department of Primary Industries, PMB 260, Horsham, Vic. 3401, Australia.

B The University of Melbourne, PMB 260, Horsham, Vic. 3401, Australia.

C Corresponding author. Email: Sally.Officer@dpi.vic.gov.au

Australian Journal of Soil Research 47(1) 103-113 https://doi.org/10.1071/SR08090
Submitted: 21 April 2008  Accepted: 10 December 2008   Published: 18 February 2009

Abstract

Low soil moisture and phosphorus (P) deficiencies restrict grain production in south-eastern Australia. The effect of the soil moisture regime on the plant availability of P from fluid mono-ammonium phosphate (MAP) fertiliser was examined during vegetative growth of wheat and canola in P-responsive soils from the Wimmera, Mallee, and high rainfall zone (Glenelg) regions of Victoria. Three plant growth experiments were performed. In Experiment 1, wheat growth and P uptake increased synergistically as soil moisture increased above permanent wilting point (PWP) and as P rate increased. In Experiment 2, the uptake of P from MAP fertiliser of wheat growing under a soil moisture deficit was examined using radioactive (32P) labelling. A factorial design compared uptake from intact soil cores of 3 soil types (Vertosol, Sodosol, Chromosol), 2 depths of fertiliser placement (40 and 80 mm), and either 0 or 25 kg P/ha. Results showed distinct plant responses to both the presence and depth of MAP fertiliser. Banding MAP close to the seed was most efficient in terms of recovery of the fertiliser P, regardless of the soil moisture conditions. Soil moisture regime affected the plant uptake of soil P, rather than fertiliser P, with more soil P taken up by the plants when soil moisture increased. The plant availability of the residual MAP fertiliser in the soil was subsequently examined in Experiment 3. The availability of the residual MAP to canola seedlings was equivalent to 8 kg P/ha of freshly applied MAP. Following both crops (9 months), Colwell P values indicated no further residual MAP availability in soil that had been under the wet regime, and only a small residual value in soil from the dry regime. Banded application of fluid MAP close to the seed and into soil that is above PWP is recommended, even when a relatively dry season is expected, although the residual value to following crops may be limited.

Additional keywords: compound fertiliser, fertiliser placement, wheat, root growth.


Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the excellent assistance of Graham Price, Dr Mike McLaughlin and Caroline Johnson (CSIRO), Geof Proudfoot and the staff of the soil and plant testing laboratory at CSBP Limited. Funding for the project was provided through the Department of Primary Industries, Victoria, and the Grains Research and Development Corporation through the Nutrient Management Initiative (project UM00023).


References


Alston AM (1976) Effects of depth of fertilizer placement on wheat grown under three water regimes. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 27, 1–10.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Alston AM (1980) Response of wheat to deep placement of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers on a soil high in phosphorus in the surface layer. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 31, 13–24.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Barraclough PB (1989) Root growth, macro-nutrient uptake dynamics and soil fertility requirements of a high-yielding winter oilseed rape crop. Plant and Soil 119, 59–70.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Batten GD, Wardlaw IF, Aston MJ (1986) Growth and the distribution of phosphorus in wheat developed under various phosphorus and temperature regimes. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 37, 459–469.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Bertrand I, Holloway RE, Armstrong RD, McLaughlin MJ (2003) Chemical characteristics of phosphorus in alkaline soils from Southern Australia. Australian Journal of Soil Research 41, 61–76.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Bertrand I, McLaughlin M, Holloway R, Armstrong R, McBeath T (2006) Changes in P bioavailability induced by the application of liquid and powder sources of P, N and Zn fertilizers in alkaline soils. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 74, 27–40.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Bolland MDA, Barrow NJ (1996) Incubating superphosphate in ‘dry’ soil can reduce its effectiveness. Fertilizer Research 44, 205–215.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Bramley RGV, Barrow NJ, Shaw TC (1992) The reaction between phosphate and dry soil. I. The effect of time, temperature and dryness. European Journal of Soil Science 43, 749–758.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Burkitt LL, Gourley CJP, Sale PWG (2002a) Changes in bicarbonate-extractable phosphorus over time when P fertiliser was withheld or reapplied to pasture soils. Australian Journal of Soil Research 40, 1213–1229.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Burkitt LL, Moody PW, Gourley CJP, Hannah MC (2002b) A simple phosphorus buffering index for Australian soils. Australian Journal of Soil Research 40, 497–513.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Cayley JWD, McCaskill MR, Kearney GA (2002) Available phosphorus, sulfur, potassium, and other cations in a long-term grazing experiment in south-western Victoria. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 53, 1349–1360.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Di HJ, Condron LM, Frossard E (1997) Isotope techniques to study phosphorus cycling in agricultural and forest soils: a review. Biology and Fertility of Soils 24, 1–12.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Elliott DE, Reuter DJ, Reddy GD, Abbott RJ (1997) Phosphorus nutrition of spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). 1. Effects of phosphorus supply on plant symptoms, yield, components of yield, and plant phosphorus uptake. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 48, 855–868.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

He YQ, Zhu YG, Smith SE, Smith FA (2002) Interactions between soil moisture content and phosphorus supply in spring wheat plants grown in pot culture. Journal of Plant Nutrition 25, 913–925.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Hedley MJ , McLaughlin MJ (2005) Reactions of phosphate fertilizers and by-products in soils. In ‘Phosphorus: Agriculture and the environment’. Agronomy Monograph No. 46. (Eds JT Sims, AN Sharpley) pp. 181–252. (ASA, CSSA, and SSSA: Madison, WI)

Hennessy K , Page C , Durack P , Bathols J (2006) Climate Change Projections for Victoria. CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, Aspendale, Vic.

Hodge A, Stewart J, Robinson D, Griffiths SB, Fitter HA (2000) Spatial and physical heterogeneity of N supply from soil does not influence N capture by two grass species. Functional Ecology 14, 645–653.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Holford ICR (1989) Efficacy of different phosphate application methods in relation to phosphate sorptivity of soils Australian Journal of Soil Research 27, 123–133.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Holloway RE, Bertrand I, Frischke AJ, Brace DM, McLaughlin MJ, Shepperd W (2001) Improving fertiliser efficiency on calcareous and alkaline soils with fluid sources of P, N and Zn. Plant and Soil 236, 209–219.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Incerti M, O’Leary GJ (1990) Rooting depth of wheat in the Victorian Mallee. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 30, 817–824.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Isbell RF (2002) ‘The Australian Soil Classification.’ Revised edn (CSIRO Publishing: Collingwood, Vic.)

Klute A (Ed.) (1986) Water retention: Laboratory methods. In ‘Methods of soil analysis. Part 1: Physical and mineralogical methods’. 2nd edn. pp. 635–662. (American Society of Agronomy: Madison, WI)

Lombi E, McLaughlin MJ, Johnston C, Armstrong RD, Holloway RE (2004) Mobility and lability of phosphorus from granular and fluid monoammonium phosphate differs in a calcareous soil. Soil Science Society of America Journal 68, 682–689.
|  CAS |
open url image1

Lombi E, McLaughlin MJ, Johnston C, Armstrong RD, Holloway RE (2005) Mobility, solubility and lability of fluid and granular forms of P fertiliser in calcareous and non-calcareous soils under laboratory conditions. Plant and Soil 269, 25–34.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Lombi E, Scheckel KG, Armstrong RD, Forrester S, Cutler JN, Paterson D (2006) Speciation and distribution of phosphorus in a fertilized soil: A synchrotron-based investigation. Soil Science Society of America Journal 70, 2038–2048.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Mackay AD, Barber SA (1985) Soil moisture effects on root growth and phosphorus uptake by corn. Agronomy Journal 77, 519–523. open url image1

McBeath TM, Armstrong RD, Lombi E, McLaughlin MJ, Holloway RE (2005) Responsiveness of wheat (Triticum aestivum) to liquid and granular phosphorus fertilisers in southern Australian soils. Australian Journal of Soil Research 43, 203–212.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

McLaughlin MJ, Alston AM, Martin JK (1987) Transformations and movement of P in the rhizosphere. Plant and Soil 97, 391–399.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

McLaughlin MJ, Alston AM, Martin JK (1988) Phosphorus cycling in wheat pasture rotations. I. The source of phosphorus taken up by wheat. Australian Journal of Soil Research 26, 323–331.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

McLaughlin MJ, James TR (1991) Effect of phosphorus supply to the surface roots of wheat on root extension and rhizosphere chemistry. Plant and Soil 134, 73–82.
|  CAS |
open url image1

McQuaker NR , Brown DF , Klucker PD (1979) Digestion of environmental materials for analysis by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry. Analytical Chemistry 51 1082 1084

Moody PW (2007) Interpretation of a single-point P buffering index for adjusting critical levels of the Colwell soil P test. Australian Journal of Soil Research 45, 55–62.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Morel C, Fardeau J-C (1990) Agronomical evaluation of phosphate fertilizer as a nutrient source of phosphorus for crops: isotopic procedure. Fertilizer Research 24, 115–122.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Norton RM, Wachsmann NG (2006) Nitrogen use and crop type affect the water use of annual crops in south-eastern Australia. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 57, 257–267.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Passioura JB (2006) The perils of pot experiments. Functional Plant Biology 33, 1075–1079.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Pinkerton A, Simpson JR (1986) Interactions of surface drying and subsurface nutrients affecting plant growth on acidic soil profiles from an old pasture. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 26, 681–689.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Piper CS, de Vries MPC (1964) The residual value of superphosphate on a red-brown earth in South Australia. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 15, 234–272.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Probert ME (1985) A conceptual model for initial and residual responses to phosphorus fertilisers. Fertilizer Research 6, 131–138.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Rayment GE , Higginson FR (1992) ‘Australian laboratory handbook of soil and water chemical methods.’ (Inkata Press: Melbourne, Vic.)

Reuter DJ , Robinson JB (1986) ‘Plant analysis: An interpretation manual.’ (Inkata Press: Melbourne, Sydney)

Robinson D (1994) Tansley review No. 73. The responses of plants to non-uniform supplies of nutrients. New Phytologist 127, 635–674.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Rose TJ, Rengel Z, Qifu M, Bowden JW (2007) Differential accumulation patterns of phosphorus and potassium by canola cultivars compared to wheat. Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science 170, 404–411.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Sadras VO, Angus JF (2006) Benchmarking water-use efficiency of rainfed wheat in dry environments. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 57, 847–856.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Sadras VO, Roget DK (2004) Production and environmental aspects of cropping intensification in a semiarid environment of southeastern Australia. Agronomy Journal 96, 236–246. open url image1

Samadi A, Gilkes RJ (1998) Forms of phosphorus in virgin and fertilised calcareous soils of Western Australia. Australian Journal of Soil Research 36, 585–602.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Simpson JR, Pinkerton A (1989) Fluctuations in soil moisture, and plant uptake of surface applied phosphate. Fertilizer Research 20, 101–108.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Smith CJ, Whitfield DM, Gyles OA (1989) Estimation of available N status of soil by wheat and barley: A-values. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 21, 169–172.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Solaiman Z, Marschner P, Wang D (2007) Growth, P uptake and rhizosphere properties of wheat and canola genotypes in an alkaline soil with low P availability. Biology and Fertility of Soils 44, 143–153.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Strong WM, Barry G (1980) The availability of soil and fertilizer phosphorus to wheat and rape at different water regimes. Australian Journal of Soil Research 18, 353–362.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Thomas BM, Rengel Z (2002) Di-ammonium phosphate and mono-ammonium phosphate improve canola growth when banded in a P-fixing soil compared with triple superphosphate. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 53, 1211–1218.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Tinker PB , Nye PH (2000) ‘Solute movement in the rhizosphere.’ (Oxford University Press: New York)

Trolove SN, Hedley MJ, Kirk GJD, Bolan NS, Loganathan P (2003) Progress in selected areas of rhizosphere research on P acquisition. Australian Journal of Soil Research 41, 471–499.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Valizadeh GR, Rengel Z, Rate AW (2002) Role of phosphorus fertiliser banding and the ratio of nitrate to ammonium on the uptake of phosphorus and wheat growth: a glasshouse study. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 42, 1095–1102.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Valizadeh GR, Rengel Z, Rate AW (2003) Response of wheat genotypes efficient in P utilisation and genotypes responsive to P fertilisation to different P banding depths and watering regimes. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 54, 59–65.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Vance CP, Uhde-Stone C, Allan DL (2003) Phosphorus acquisition and use: critical adaptations by plants for securing a nonrenewable resource. New Phytologist 157, 423–447.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1