Wheat Response to Foliar-Applied Phosphorus Is Determined by Soil Phosphorus Buffering

Raj Malik; Craig Scanlan; Andrew van Burgel; Balwinder Singh

doi:10.3390/agronomy14081630

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Wheat Response to Foliar-Applied Phosphorus Is Determined by Soil Phosphorus Buffering

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Wheat Response to Foliar-Applied Phosphorus Is Determined by Soil Phosphorus Buffering

Raj Malik, Craig Scanlan, Andrew van Burgel and Balwinder Singh

Agronomy (Basel), Vol.14(8), 1630

2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14081630

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Abstract

Agricultural production

Chemical reactions

Crop diseases

Crop yield

Cropping systems

Crops

Efficiency

Experiments

Fertilizers

Field tests

Grain

No-till cropping

Phosphoric acid

Phosphorus

Planting

Seeding

Seedlings

Soil chemistry

Soil depth

Soil improvement

Soil testing

Wheat

In no-till cropping systems, banding of phosphorus (P) fertiliser at seeding results in low use efficiency due to chemical reactions in soil. Foliar P has the potential to allow grain producers to respond tactically with P application after sowing when P supply from soil and fertiliser is not meeting crop demand. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of foliar P on wheat grain yield, grain quality, biomass yield, P uptake and P use efficiency indices. Nine field experiments were conducted to investigate the response of wheat to foliar P. Three rates of P, 0, 2.5 and 5.0 kg/ha, as phosphoric acid (H3PO4 85%) were applied to wheat at three different growth stages: first tiller emergence (Z21), first node detection (Z31) and flag leaf emergence (Z39). Grain yield responses ranging from 176 kg/ha to 505 kg/ha to foliar-applied P were observed in six out of nine experiments. The percent grain yield response to foliar P was negatively related to the P buffering index (PBI, 0–10 cm soil depth), which is attributed to greater sorption by soil of the foliar P at the higher PBI levels. Mean agronomic efficiency (AE) across the experiments was 111 kg/kg P but reached up to 232 kg/kg P. It was also evident that foliar P has the potential to improve P concentration in shoots and grains and increase P uptake but with no or minimal effect on grain quality. Our results suggest that a combination of tissue testing at the seedling stage and soil P buffering can be used to guide when foliar P application is likely to increase grain yield in wheat.

Details

Title: Wheat Response to Foliar-Applied Phosphorus Is Determined by Soil Phosphorus Buffering
Authors/Creators: Raj Malik
Craig Scanlan - Murdoch University, Centre for Sustainable Farming Systems
Andrew van Burgel
Balwinder Singh
Publication Details: Agronomy (Basel), Vol.14(8), 1630
Publisher: MDPI AG
Identifiers: 991005701568207891
Murdoch Affiliation: SoilsWest
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article

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Citation topics: 3 Agriculture, Environment & Ecology; 3.45 Soil Science; 3.45.473 Soil Phosphorus Dynamics
Web Of Science research areas: Agronomy; Plant Sciences
ESI research areas: Agricultural Sciences