Optimizing available phosphorus in calcareous soils fertilized with diammonium phosphate and phosphoric acid using freundlich adsorption isotherm

In calcareous soils, phosphorus (P) retention and immobilization take place due to precipitation and adsorption. Since soil pH is considered a major soil variable affecting the P sorption, an acidic P fertilizer could result in low P adsorption compared to alkaline one. Therefore, P adsorption from DAP and phosphoric acid (PA) required to produce desired soil solution P concentration was estimated using Freundlich sorption isotherms. Two soils from Faisalabad and T. T. Singh districts were spiked with 0, 10, and 20 % CaCO3 for 15 days. Freundlich adsorption isotherms (P=aCb/a) were constructed, and theoretical doses of PA and DAP to develop a desired soil solution P level (i.e., 0.20 mg L-1) were calculated. It was observed that P adsorption in soil increased with CaCO3. Moreover, at all the levels of CaCO3, P adsorption from PA was lower compared to that from DAP in both the soils. Consequently, lesser quantity of PA was required to produce desired solution P, 0.2 mg L -1, compared to DAP. However, extrapolating the developed relationship between soil CaCO3 contents and quantity of fertilizer to other similar textured soils needs confirmation. © 2013 Asif Naeem et al.