Phosphorus acquisition from phosphate rock by soil cover crops, maize, and a buckwheat-maize cropping system

Author(s)

Lopes, Valeria Adriele ^[1] ; Wei, Marcelo Chan Fu ^[1] ; Cardoso, Taina Martins ^[1] ; Martins, Eder de Souza ^[2] ; Casagrande, Jose Carlos ^[1] ; Mariano, Eduardo Dal'Ava ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] UFSCar CCA, Rod SP 330, Km 174, CP 153, BR-13600970 Araras, SP - Brazil

^[2] Embrapa Cerrados, Rod BR 020, Km 18, CP 8223, BR-73310970 Planaltina, DF - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Scientia Agricola; v. 79, n. 4 2022.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

Alternatives to enhance the consensual low phosphorus (P) use efficiency of agriculture may include use of phosphate rock (PR) and plant species with unequal ability to get soil and rock P interplanted in cropping systems to allow plants with higher ability to facilitate access to P of plants with lower ability. This study investigated (i) the maize and three soil cover crops on their capacity to acquire P from PR and (ii) measured P acquisition of maize interplanted with the soil cover crop with the highest capacity to acquire P shown in (i). Experiments were carried out in a greenhouse, with plants grown in single and mixed cropping in pots containing a sandy, low-P soil amended with Monocalcium Phosphate (McP) or the Brazilian PR ltafos. Plant biomass production with PR, in relation to McP, was 83.7 % for buckwheat, 83.6 % for forage radish, 51.8 % for maize, and 0.3 % for pigeon pea. Buckwheat showed capacity of acquiring P from PR; nevertheless, it did not increase growth or P nutrition of maize interplanted in the soil amended with PR, showing no significant P facilitation. The soil amended with McP showed competition between the two plants in the pots. Maize had a greater growth in mixed than in single cropping and this occurred at the expenses of buckwheat. Despite the P mobilization potential of buckwheat, its simple interplanting with maize did not produce positive results. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 16/20186-0 - Acquisition of phosphorus from phosphate rock by a plant species consortium
• Grantee: Valéria Adriele Lopes
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• FAPESP's process: 18/15754-4 - Common bean plant acquisition of phosphorus mobilised from phosphate rock by buckwheat plants
• Grantee: Tainá Martins Cardoso
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation