Agronomic effectiveness and residual effects of Egyptian and Togo phosphate rocks on clover production

The high cost of conventional, water‐soluble phosphorus (P) fertilizers limits their use by resource‐poor farmers in sub‐Saharan Africa. Phosphate rocks are a low‐cost alternative. We evaluated the effectiveness and residual effects of Egyptian phosphate rock (EPR) and Togo phosphate rock (TPR) relative to triple superphosphate (TSP) applied at 0, 20, 40, 80, and 160 kg P ha^‐1 to annual Trifolium species grown in a P‐deficient Vertisol. The fertilizers were applied once and their effects were followed on seven consecutive annual clover crops. Clover responded to P at all the rates used. Significant (P<0.05) responses to P at the low 20–40 kg P ha^‐1 rates were registered up to the fifth crop after application of P, and responses to higher rates of 80–160 kg P ha^‐1 were significant up to the seventh crop. Critical evaluation of residual effects by comparing the response of clover to these fertilizers with response to fresh applications of TSP in the second and third crops confirmed these observations. Over all the seven crops, EPR was 82% as effective as TSP in increasing clover DM and 83% as effective in increasing P uptake. Its substitution rates were 67% for DM yields and 69% for P uptake. For TPR, the relative responses were 54% and 52% for DM yield and P uptake, respectively, and the corresponding substitution rates were 29% and 27%. In separate experiments, the effects of mixing these phosphate rocks with triple superphosphate (TSP) in various proportions (at 60 kg P ha^‐1) were also investigated. The highest response of clover was observed with TSP applied alone, but the phosphate rocks applied alone also significantly increased yields compared with the controls without applied P. Mixtures of TPR and TSP increased yields only slightly over pure TPR, and mixtures of EPR and TSP had no effect on yields compared with pure EPR, presumably because EPR is more reactive than TPR. It was concluded that EPR is highly effective in these soils, but the effectiveness of TPR is low. The highly reactive EPR could be used to elevate the P status of the P‐deficient Vertisols and increase feed availability and livestock productivity in the Ethiopian highlands. Mixing of these phosphate rocks with TSP cannot be recommended.