The role of isotopic techniques on the evaluation of the agronomic effectiveness of P fertilizers
1995
Fardeau, J.C. | Guiraud, G. | Marol, C.
Many isotopic techniques can be applied to determine the relative immediate and residual effectiveness of P fertilizers. Using isotopes as tracers, the percentage of utilization by plants of the P derived from a fertilizer can be determined. However this is only possible during the three or four months after the application. Therefore, the P fertilizers may be classified only according to their relative immediate effectiveness. To also evaluate residual effect, which can be observed when more P is applied than is removed with harvest, isotopes of phosphorus can be used. This residual effect is determined by comparing pool sizes of bioavailable soil P in soils with and without P fertilizer aged in soil. The bioavailable soil P pool may be analyzed according to three isotopic experimental procedures which give access to either the A value, or the E value or the L value. The aims, the similarities and the differences between these three procedures, are examined. Some of the theoretical and practical constraints of each method are described in this paper; they must be followed in order to obtain reliable information for agronomic purposes. A method involves measuring the rate of isotopic exchange of phosphate ions in soil-solution systems maintained in steady-state. It is now possible to predict the effectiveness of P fertilizers, whatever their chemical form when this method is applied on soil samples where P fertilizers were applied.
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