INOSITOL PHOSPHATE AND ORGANIC PHOSPHORUS CONTENTS AND PHOSPHATASE ACTIVITY OF SOME CANADIAN AND GHANAIAN SOILS

Total organic phosphorus, inositol phosphates and phosphatase activity of some selected Canadian and Ghanaian soils were compared. The lower organic phosphorus content of Ghanaian soils compared to the Canadian soils may be the result of either the faster rate of mineralization of organic phosphorus in the tropical Ghanaian soils or differences in the nature of organic residues returned to the soils. Wide variations in the amounts of inositol phosphate were observed in both groups of soils. The low activity of phosphatases in the Ghanaian soils may be due to the lower content of organic matter, a lower microbial biomass and consequently a lower phosphatase production. The effect of rotation and fertilizer application on the total organic P, inositol P and phosphatase activity indicated that alfalfa grown in rotation with corn and oats contributed significantly to the total soil organic phosphorus content with no apparent increase in inositol phosphate content. No consistent trends were observed in either the total amount of inositol phosphates or the proportion of the total phosphorus that existed as inositol phosphates for either the fertilized or unfertilized soils. The activity of phosphatase was generally higher in the corn-oat-alfalfa rotation than in the systems of corn-oat and continuous corn. Fertilization decreased the phosphatase activity in all cropping systems.