Response of maize (Zea mays L.) to phosphorus application and dynamics in some Syrian soils


Abstract in English

A pot exrpriment was conducted in a greenhouse in Tishreen University. The experiment included three soils differ in their chemical properties: 1) heavy clay red soil rich in iron oxides; 2) a silty loam basiltic soil; 3) a heavet clay red soil rich in total calcium carbonate (34.8 %). Treatments include application of different levels of triple super phosphate (TSP, 46 % P2O5) ranged from 0, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 150, to 200 mg P/kg soil. Pots were sowned with maize (2 plants/pot) and grown for 48 days. At harvest, plant were hatvested before flowering by cutting shoots and extracting roots which were oven dried and weight were recorded prior to digestion and P determination in shoot and root tissues. Samples of rhizosphere soils from each pot replicate were taken for P fractionation and determination. The response of maize to P application differs at period test according to soil type. The increase in growth was linear with increasing P level of application in theheavy red and calcareous red soils, while was polynomial in basilitic soil. The speed of growth increase in response to P application was influenced by native available P in the soil prior to application. The application of P led to linear increase in resin-P and MRP fraction in the bicarbonate extract, but not the Po fraction of the bicarbonate extract. The quantities of fixed applied P varied according to level of P application, the ratio of P uptake by maize plants, and chemical properties of the soil type. The proportion of applied P that was fixed increased linerarly with increasing level of P application. It constitutes 41.7,68.5 and66% at level of P application (20 mg/kg soil), and decreasing to30.2, 41.9 and 59.1% at level of P application (200 mg/kg soil) for red, basiltic, and calcerous red soils, respectively.

References used

BELAY, A; CLAASSENS, A.S and WEHNER, F.S. Effects of direct N and K and residual phosphorus fertilizers on soil chemical properties, microbiological components and maize yield under long-term crop rotation. Biol. Fertil. Soils, Vol. 35. 2002. 420–427,ISSN 0178-2762
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