Factors affecting the retention of phosphorus applied as superphosphate to the sandy soils in south-eastern South Australia

Abstract

The retention of phosphorus applied as superphosphate was measured in 31 multi-rate experiments on siliceous sands in the south-east of South Australia. The amount of phosphorus retained in the top 30 cm of soil and recovered in harvested pasture 5 months after application ranged from 0 to 100% and averaged 57% for an average dressing of 32 kg phosphorus ha-1. Of the eight soil parameters measured, 'active' iron, 'active' aluminium, organic carbon and phosphorus sorption were most closely correlated with phosphorus retention. Combinations of these variables accounted for far more of the variation than did single factors. 'Active' iron and organic carbon accounted for 53.6% of the variation. The inclusion of quadratic 'active' iron and aluminium terms improved the fit with 63.9% of the variation accounted for. Rainfall during the experiments varied from 168 to 484 mm but had no effect on retention. Some agronomic implications of the leaching losses are discussed. It is considered that a measure of 'active' iron and organic carbon could be used as indicators of leaching and could assist in determining phosphorus recommendations in the region.