TY - JOUR A1 - Paynter, BH T1 - Comparative phosphate requirements of yellow serradella (Ornithopus compressus) burr medic (Medicago polymorpha var. brevispina) and subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum) JF - Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture JO - Aust. J. Exp. Agric. Y1 - 1990 VL - 30 IS - 4 SP - 507 EP - 514 KW - UR - https://doi.org/10.1071/EA9900507 N2 - The phosphate (P) requirements of burr medic (Medicago polymorpha) on marginally acidic, medium-textured soils and yellow serradella (Ornithopus compressus) on acidic, light-textured soils in the low rainfall (<400 mm) wheatbelt of Western Australia are not known. The hypothesis that yellow serradella, subterranean clover (Trifolium suhrerraneum) and burr medic have the same external requirement for applied P was tested in a glasshouse trial on 2 P-deficient soils. Species were compared on an equal total seed weight and similar maturity length basis. It was found that yellow serradella required less soil applied P to achieve 90% maximum shoot production or total plant (shoots + roots) growth and had a greater curvature co-efficient from fitted Mitscherlich functions than either subterranean clover or burr medic. Burr medic was the most responsive to applied P and had the largest external requirement for applied P. These differences in external P requirements were related to differences in ability of the 3 legumes to absorb P and to transport it to their shoots and were not due to differences in internal efficiency of the shoots. Yellow serradella was able to take up more P (total plant P content) per g roots than subterranean clover, and subterranean clover more than burr medic. The same relationship applied to the translocation of absorbed P from roots to shoots. ER -