Effect of P application on CEC,amounts of extractable nutrients,and corn yield in a Hydric Melanudand in the Philippines

In soils, next to nitrogen, phosphorus (P) is the second major growth-limiting factor for plants (Fox 1979). It is probably the most deficient soil-derived plant nutrient in Oxisols, Ultisols, acid Alfisols, and Andisols and the proper development of crops is frequently impossible without the application of P. P deficiency is a major nutritional problem in variable charge soils, especially the Andisols, where applied P is usually converted into an unavailable form. The P added to Andisols in fertilizers is readily sorbed to form noncrystal-line aluminum phosphate materials (Nanzyo 1987). Most uncultivated Andisols also show a very low P fertility and very low recovery of applied P fertilizers by crops (Shoji et al. 1993). In fact, P fixation is one of the growth-limiting factors for crops cultivated in Brazil (Fageria and Filho 1987).