Application of Bicarbonate to High‐Phosphorus Soils to Increase Plant‐Available Phosphorus. Issue 1 (30th January 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Björkman, Thomas; Reiners, Stephen
• Is Part Of: Soil Science Society of America Journal. Volume 78:Issue 1(2014)
• Page Start: 319
• Page End: 324
• Publication Date: 2014-01-30
• Subjects: Soils -- United States -- Periodicals; Soil science -- Periodicals; Periodicals; 631.4973
• DOI: 10.2136/sssaj2013.08.0359
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0361-5995

Abstract

Abstract : Vegetable growers in the northeastern United States often have soils with P levels so high that fertilizer applications have environmentally detrimental effects. However, growers raise crops that require P fertilizer in cool soils regardless of soil P levels. A method to increase bioavailable P to vegetable seedlings in cool soils would have great value. Bicarbonate is a safe and inexpensive material that solubilizes some pools of adsorbed phosphate. Incubation of 50 mmol KHCO3 kg −1 soil increased water‐extractable P three‐ to eightfold in soils characteristic of P‐impacted vegetable soils in the northeastern United States. A banded treatment at this rate is equivalent to 28 kg ha −1 . Multivariate analysis of soil characteristics revealed that the most responsive soils were those high in sand content. The response increased linearly with sand content >50%. A bicarbonate application technique would therefore have particular promise on sandy, high‐P soils such as those found on the Atlantic seaboard.