Incubating superphosphate in 'dry'soil can reduce its effectiveness

Single superphosphate was incubated for six months at 25°C in soil which had been subject to one of three moisture treatments. These were: dried in a glasshouse, dried at a constant temperature of 25°C, or moist soil. Phosphorus (P) effectiveness was then compared with effectiveness of P from freshly-applied superphosphate using yields of wheat (Triticum aestivum) and triticale (×Triticosecale) tops in pot experiments. Incubation in soil which had been dried at 25°C did not decrease the effectiveness of the P. Incubation in moist soil decreased it to about 20% of the effectiveness of freshly-applied P in one case and to about 50% in the other case. Incubation in soil which had been dried in a glasshouse also decreased its effectiveness. The decrease varied with conditions, but in two cases the P was 70% as effective as freshly-applied P, and in one case only 45% as effective. Presumably sufficient moisture was present in the soil dried in the glasshouse to enable water-soluble P present in the fertilizer to react with the soil.