The spatial distribution of soil nitrogen determines responses of Sorghum bicolor to banded phosphorus fertiliser

Megan A. Hunter; Michael J. Bell; Frederik J. T. van der Bom; Millicent R. Smith; Chelsea K. Janke; Timothy I. McLaren

doi:10.1071/CP24256

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

Previous Next Contents Vol 75(12)

The spatial distribution of soil nitrogen determines responses of Sorghum bicolor to banded phosphorus fertiliser

Megan A. Hunter

^A ^* , Michael J. Bell ^A ^B , Frederik J. T. van der Bom ^C , Millicent R. Smith ^A ^D , Chelsea K. Janke ^E and Timothy I. McLaren ^E

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability, The University of Queensland, Gatton 4343, Qld, Australia.

^B Centre for Crop Science, Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, The University of Queensland, Gatton 4343, Qld, Australia.

^C Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, The University of Copenhagen, Taastrup 2630, Hovedstaden, Denmark.

^D Centre for Crop Science, Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, The University of Queensland, St Lucia 4072, Qld, Australia.

^E School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane 4072, Qld, Australia.

^* Correspondence to: megan.hunter@student.uq.edu.au

Handling Editor: Roger Armstrong

Crop & Pasture Science 75, CP24256 https://doi.org/10.1071/CP24256

Submitted: 19 August 2024 Accepted: 26 November 2024 Published: 13 December 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Context

The grain-growing areas of north-eastern Australia are a major producer of grain for human and livestock consumption, but declining soil nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) fertility is increasing fertiliser requirements to sustain productivity. Adding a concentrated zone of fertiliser P to the subsoil (i.e. a ‘deep P’ band) is an effective strategy to increase plant P uptake in farming systems reliant on stored soil water. However, crop responses to deep P with contrasting soil N status remain unclear.

Aim

This study aimed to assess responses of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) to fertiliser P with contrasting distributions of soil N.

Method

A lysimeter experiment was conducted in semi-controlled environment, where sorghum was grown to physiological maturity in P depleted Vertosol with contrasting fertiliser N and P additions.

Key findings

Responses of sorghum to deep P were optimised when bands were placed in N enriched soil in the 0–20 cm layer, producing comparable biomass to when P was dispersed throughout the soil volume. Localised root proliferation around the deep P band was maximised when bands were placed into N-enriched soil, however plant P uptake was only 77% of that with dispersed P.

Conclusions

Sorghum responses to deep P were affected by the distribution of soil N within the top 60 cm of the soil profile, with maximum dry matter production, N and P uptake occurring when high concentrations of N and P were co-located in the 0–20 cm layer.

Implications

Adequate N status of the upper soil profile is required to optimise sorghum responses to deep P.

Keywords: deep P, lysimeter, nitrogen, northern grains region, P responsiveness, phosphorus, soil N distribution, Vertisol.

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