Experiments by soil scientists from the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia and Huazhong Agricultural University have shown that the phosphorus availability in paddy fields can be increased by adding carbon compounds (oxalate, acetate, propionate, and formiate solutions) to the soil.
According to the researchers, their findings prove the assumption that carbon provides soil microorganisms that release phosphorus in the form available for plants a source of energy in the absence of oxygen in flooded paddy soils.
These results can help reduce farmers’ dependence on expensive phosphate fertilizers while increasing their productivity.
The research has been published in Geoderma.
Read the full story at PhysOrg.
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