The effect of liming on the absorption of phosphorus and nitrogen by winter legumes

Davis, F.L.; Brewer, C.A. Jr

The effect of liming on the absorption of phosphorus and nitrogen by winter legumes

1940

Davis, F.L. | Brewer, C.A. Jr

Both Austrian winter peas (Pisum arvense) and common vetch (Vicia sativa) were grown with various fertilizer treatments at a number of locations on upland soils in Louisiana. The composition of the soil and the growth and chemical analysis of the green matter produced were determined. The data show that liming soils low in calcium content enabled the crops to utilize larger quantities of the phosphorus supplied by applications of superphosphate. Lime alone produced an increase in percentage content of calcium only, while lime applied with superphosphate resulted in an increased content of calcium, phosphorus, and nitrogen. Earlier data regarding the relationship between readily available soil phosphorus and crop yields are reviewed. These data further showed that those soils on which the yield of sorghum was unexplainably low in relation to the available phosphorus were also low in exchangeable calcium. It is thought that a low calcium content of soils will explain the lack of agreement between crop yields and rapid tests for phosphorus on many southern soils. These facts are of the utmost importance to an expansion in the production of feed and forage crops on the upland soils of the southern states.

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