Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-qsmjn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-23T10:52:25.977Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Comparison of the effects of phosphate fertilizer on the yield, phosphate content and quality of 22 different vegetable and agricultural crops

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

D. J. Greenwood ,
T. J. Cleaver ,
Mary K. Turner ,
J. Hunt ,
K. B. Niendorf  and
S. M. H. Loquens
D. J. Greenwood
Affiliation:
National Vegetable Research Station, Wellesbourne, Warwick, CV35 9EF
T. J. Cleaver
Affiliation:
National Vegetable Research Station, Wellesbourne, Warwick, CV35 9EF
Mary K. Turner
Affiliation:
National Vegetable Research Station, Wellesbourne, Warwick, CV35 9EF
J. Hunt
Affiliation:
National Vegetable Research Station, Wellesbourne, Warwick, CV35 9EF
K. B. Niendorf
Affiliation:
National Vegetable Research Station, Wellesbourne, Warwick, CV35 9EF
S. M. H. Loquens
Affiliation:
National Vegetable Research Station, Wellesbourne, Warwick, CV35 9EF
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Fifty-six experiments, each with 15 levels of P fertilizer in the presence of excess N and K fertilizer, were carried out on adjacent sites of the same field where the soil was maintained at the same low P status. Yields, in every experiment where there was a response, were related to level of P fertilizer by a diminishing-retums type curve, and fitted an inverse polynomial equation with a single parameter to define responsiveness. Responsiveness of many crops were similar but there were, nevertheless, considerable inter-crop differences.

Applications of P fertilizer increased the % P in the dry matter of lettuce and spinach as well as yields. They increased the % P in the Cruciferae and Chenopodiaceae without appreciably affecting yield. Conversely, theyhad little effect on the % P of leeks, onions, broad beans and French beans but increased yields.

When the optimum levels of P fertilizer were applied, % P (in the entire plant) of the different crops was negatively correlated with total dry weight per unit area and total uptake of P was related by a single curved relationship to total dry weight. In addition, the difference between the % P in the foliage and in the storage roots of the various root crops was asymptotically related to mean plant weight.

Percentage recovery of added P (100 kg/ha) by the different crops was largely determined by the total weight of dry matter. It varied from 1% when crop dry weight was 2 t/ha to 12% when it was 15 t/ha.

Applications of phosphate suppressed leaf scorch of spinach. On occasion they alleviated stem rot in summer cabbage and influenced the bolting of onions and the number of defective Brussels sprouts. Otherwise, the effects on quality were small.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 95 , Issue 2 , October 1980 , pp. 457 - 469
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1980

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bieleski, R. L. & Johnson, P. N. (1972). The external location of phosphatase activity in phosphorusdeficient Spirodela oligorrhiza. Australian Journal of Biological Sciences 25, 707–720.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bingham, F. T. (1966). Phosphorus. In Diagnostic Criteria for Plants and Soils (ed. Chapman, Homer D.), pp. 324–361. University of California Division of Agricultural Sciences.Google Scholar
Cooke, G. W. (1967). The Control of Soil Fertility, p. 165. London: Crosby Lookwood & Son.Google Scholar
Greenwood, D. J., Cleaver, T. J. & Turner, M. K. (1974). Fertilizer requirements of vegetable crops. Proceedings of the Fertilizer Society, London 145, 5–31.Google Scholar
Greenwood, D. J., Cleaver, T. J., Turner, M. K., Hunt, J., Niendorf, K. B. & Loquens, S. M. H. (1980). Comparison of the effects of potassium fertilizer on the yield, potassium content and quality of 22 different vegetable and agricultural crops. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 95, 441–456.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haworth, F., Cleaver, T. J. & Bray, J. M. (1966 a). The effects of different manurial treatments on the yield and mineral composition of early potatoes. Journal of Horticultural Science 41, 225–241.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haworth, F., Cleaver, T. J. & Bray, J. M. (1966 b). The effects of different manurial treatments on the yield and mineral composition of red beet. Journal of Horticultural Science 41, 243–255.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haworth, F., Cleaver, T. J. & Bray, J. M. (1966 c). The effects of different manurial treatments on the yield and mineral composition of carrots. Journal of Horticultural Science 41, 299–310.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haworth, F., Cleaver, T. J. & Bray, J. M. (1967). The effects of different manurial treatments on the yield and mineral composition of spring cabbage. Journal of Horticultural Science 42, 13–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnston, A. E., Mattingly, G. E. G. & Poulton, P. R. (1976). Effect of phosphate residues on soil P values and crop yields. I. Experiments on barley, potatoes and sugar beet on sandy loam soils at Woburn. Rothamsted Experimental Station Report for 1975, Part 2, pp. 5–35.Google Scholar
Johnston, A. E., Warren, R. G. & Penny, A. (1970). The value of residues from long-period manuring at Rothamsted and Woburn. IV. The value to arable crops of residues accumulated from superphosphate. Rothamsted Experimental Station Report for 1969, Part 2, pp. 39–63.Google Scholar
Mullette, K. J., Hannon, N. J. & Elliott, A. G. L. (1974). Insoluble phosphorus usage by Eucalyptus. Plant and Soil 41, 199–205.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nye, P.H. (1968). Processes in the root environment. Journal of Soil Science 19, 205–217.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Riley, D. & Barber, S. A. (1971). Effect of ammonium and nitrate fertilization on phosphorus uptake as related to root-induced pH changes at the root soil interface. Soil Science Society of America Proceedings 35, 301–306.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Widdowson, F. V. & Penny, A. (1967). Results of an experiment at Woburn testing farmyard manure and N, P and K fertilizers on five arable crops and a long ley. I. Yields. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 68, 95–102.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Widdowson, F. V., Penny, A. & Cooke, G. W. (1963). Results of an experiment at Rothamsted testing farmyard manure and N, P and K fertilizers on five arable crops. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 60, 347–352.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woolhouse, H. W. (1969). Differences in the properties of the acid phosphatases of plant roots and their significance in the evolution of edaphic ecotypes. In Ecological Aspects of the Mineral Nutrition of Plants (ed., Bradshaw, A. D., Chadwick, M. J., Jefferies, R. L., Jennings, D. H. and Tinker, P. B.), pp. 357–380. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications.Google Scholar