Phosphorus Availability in Lolium perenne L. in Acidic and Limed Soils

Abstract

Soil liming may increase phosphorus (P) availability, but this increase may also be achieved with generous P applications. However, it is not well known which practice has longer-term effects. Thus, in a pot experiment, an acidic soil (pH 4.57), limed to pH 6.5, was added with P and sown with Lolium perenne L. We conducted three cuttings (on Days 40, 80, and 120) in order to evaluate P dynamics in each of the treatments. As expected, biomass increased significantly with liming. We also found that plant P concentration increased in the liming treatment, but not in the P-added treatment, although the difference was reduced on Day 120. This shows that in severely acidic soils, liming should be preferred over P addition, although the beneficial effects may not last for a very long time, since in this experiment, they only lasted for 4 months. Similar conclusions were drawn from soil P extraction results. © 2017 Taylor & Francis.