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EC Nebraska | Total phosphorus in corn belt soils is measured in the 1,000's of pounds. More if the soil is deeper than the plow layer. Problem is that most of it is not plant available. However, a good healthy microbial network will extract what it needs. If the soil is flooded with water soluble phosphorus, there is no need to work to extract very much. If you keep the microbial network healthy and hungry for phosphorus (a decent rye cover crop with strip-till will work) they will extract a lot of phosphorus.
If you put 50 lbs P2O5 down in a strip and raise 220 bpa corn on it, a healthy soil that's deeper than a couple feet should be able to sustain that for a couple hundred years. I realize not every one is farming soil that's 3-4 ft deep, but that includes almost anything the roots and hyphae can penetrate, not just black topsoil. (sand is an exception)
Edited by NE Ridger 12/25/2015 07:56
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strip till fertilizer savings??
