Rhizosphere phosphorus depletion by three crops differing in their phosphorus critical levels

It has been reported for many soils that maize (Zea mays L.) has a higher soil‐P critical level than soybean (Glycine max L.) and sunflower (Helianthus annuus L). The objective of this work was to compare the rhizosphere P depletion in these three species in order to investigate if they differ in their capacity to acquire soil P. Sequential P fractionation and pH were determined in rhizosphere and nonrhizosphere soil samples from field and greenhouse experiments. Neither sunflower (the species with highest rhizosphere acidification) nor soybean or maize showed a significant relationship between P depletion and rhizosphere pH. The labile P fraction and the NaOH‐P_i fraction had lower values in the rhizosphere than in the bulk soil in 38% and 77% of the studied cases, respectively. Sunflower and especially maize presented a more intense P_i depletion than soybean. The comparison between sunflower and maize revealed that neither of them took a clear advantage over the other in terms of P depletion. Rhizosphere P_i depletion was associated with the amount of P acquired by the plants. We conclude that the accessibility to different P pools does not explain the differences in soil‐P critical levels among the three species.