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The Effect of Soil Reaction on the Availability of Phosphorus for Alfalfa in Some Eastern Ontario Soils¹

ABSTRACT

The yields and phosphorus contents of alfalfa grown with and without phosphorus fertilizer in six soils previously limed to different pH levels in pots, and the amounts of phosphorus extracted with four chemical methods from soil samples taken prior to seeding and after harvest of the crop, were used to evaluate the effect of soil reaction on the availability of native and applied phosphorus for alfalfa.

The greatest uptake of phosphorus by alfalfa occurred at a pH of about 7.5, the highest level employed in the experiment. In most instances, the phosphorus contents of the plants were highest at a pH of about 7.5, at which level the yields were either similar to or higher than those obtained at any lower pH.

The results for phosphorus in most of the soils as measured with the Truog and sodium bicarbonate methods and for Bray adsorbed phosphorus in three of the soils showed that liming to or slightly above the neutral point increased the amounts of available soil phosphorus.

¹ Contribution from the Division of Field Husbandry, Soils and Agricultural Engineering, Canada Department of Agriculture, and the Soil Science Department, Michigan Agr. Exp. Sta., East Lansing, Mich. Authorized for publication by the Director as Journal No. 1677 of the Michigan Agr. Exp. Sta. Taken from a part of a thesis submitted to the faculty of Michigan State College by the senior author in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Ph.D. degree. Presented before Div. IV, Soil Science Society of America, St. Paul, Minn., Nov. 11, 1954.

² Senior Agronomist, Division of Field Husbandry, Soils and Agricultural Engineering, Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa, and Professor of Soil Science, Michigan State College, respectively.

Received for publication October 13, 1954.