Improving soil phosphorus supply and wheat yield with manure-amended phosphate fertilizer

AbstractMixing of phosphate fertilizer with farmyard manure (FYM) is a simple technique for optimizing phosphorus (P) availability and then improving the productivity of wheat (Triticum aestivum) grown in alkaline calcareous soils. Diammonium phosphate (DAP) and phosphoric acid (PA) were applied to soil at 36 mg P kg−1, either as sole or after amending 1-g P fertilizer with 2-g FYM (1:2, w/w basis). After 45-day incubation, concentration of P ions in the soil solution (Cp) and exchangeable P present in soil solid (E-value) were determined to evaluate the amount of total plant-available pool. The FYM-amended fertilizers, i.e., PA+FYM and DAP+FYM, showed higher E-values, i.e., 114 and 97 mg kg−1 soil, respectively. Similarly, PA+FYM exhibited the highest proportion of P derived from fertilizer (Pdff = 51.5%) and induced the highest P uptake by wheat seedlings (L-value = 72.1 mg kg−1). Consequently, PA+FYM and DAP+FYM treatments caused higher grain yield and P-use efficiency. The regression analysis revealed strong and positive correlation between L-value and grain yield (r = 0.86), biomass production (r = 0.84) and P-use efficiency (r = 0.87) by wheat crop. Results suggested that FYM-amended inorganic P fertilizer can be a promising technique to optimize supply of P from soil, improve efficiency of inorganic P fertilizers, and improve wheat yield in alkaline calcareous soils.