Green manure from prunings and mineral fertilizer affect phosphorus adsorption and uptake by maize crop in a gliricidia-maize intercropping

Gliricidia sepium-maize intercropping has shown to be a suitable option for soil nutrients replenish- ment and for sustainable crop production in Southern Malawi. This study was carried out to understand the effect of green manure on phosphorus sorption and subsequent crop uptake under gliricidia ( G. sepium )-maize intercropping. The experiment consisted of a factorial combination of two cropping practices (maize with and without gliricidia), three rates of inorganic N fertilizer (0, 46 and 92 kg N/ha), and inorganic phosphorous (P) fertilizer (0, 20 and 40 kg P 2 O 5 ha -1 ) combined. Application of gliricidia prunings and inorganic P fertilizers reduced the P sorption capacity of the soil and maize P uptake. Langmuir P affinity constant and the Freundlich P adsorption constant were significantly reduced with application of gliricidia prunings and inorganic P fertiliser. Combination of gliricidia prunings and inorganic P fertiliser further reduced the P sorption capacity of the soils compared to gliricidia prunings alone. The results indicate that addition of gliricidia prunings increases P availability through reduced P sorption capacity of the soil and recycling of P. combination of gliricidia prunings and inorganic P fertiliser has an added benefit compared to application of either gliricidia prunings or inorganic P fertiliser alone.

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5897/SRE.9000535

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