Abstract
Background and aims
Phosphorus (P) availability in calcareous soils is limited. Acidifying the soil by adding sulfur (S) or enhancing microbial activity by adding carbon (C) can increase P bioavailability. However, understanding of the impact of the combined application of P, S and C on P availability in calcareous soils is lacking. In this study, we investigated the effects of heterogeneous (co-localized) supply of different combinations of P, S and C on the maize (Zea mays L.) shoot and root growth and soil P availability in calcareous soil with low available P.
Methods
A rhizo-box experiment with heterogeneous supply of P, S and C was conducted to assess the responses of maize growth, root morphology and physiology, as well as soil P availability.
Results
Heterogeneous low P (P1) with S supply significantly increased shoot and root biomass, shoot P content and P-use efficiency (PUE) compared to homogenous or heterogeneous P1 supply alone. Application of S decreased the rhizosphere soil pH and stimulated the proliferation of maize roots. By contrast, heterogeneous P1 and C supply did not change shoot biomass, P uptake or PUE but decreased root biomass. The addition of C, however, enhanced acid phosphatase activity and carboxylates concentration in the rhizosphere, and increased NaHCO3-extractable P, implying enhanced P availability.
Conclusion
Adding S combined with P is an effective approach to engineer the rhizosphere by increasing maize growth and PUE in calcareous soil, whereas adding C increased NaHCO3-extractable soil P but did not influence maize shoot growth.
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Data availability
The data in this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32130094), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2023YFD1901502), the Hainan Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (321CXTD443), the 2115 Talent Development Program of China Agricultural University, the Yunnan Science and Technology Department project “Yunnan Modern Agricultural Green Technology Innovation Platform (No. 202102AE090053)”, Project of New Fertilizer Research and Development of Yun-Tian-Hua Group of Yunnan of China (YTH-4320-WB-FW-2021-031303-00), China Scholarship Council (No. 201913043) and Hainan University. We especially thank to Dr. Kai Zhang and Mr. Jie Xu for their kind help in experiment set up and sample collection.
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Jianbo Shen and Dongfang Zheng designed the study. Dongfang Zheng carried out the glasshouse and laboratory work, analysed the data and wrote the manuscript. Yang Lyu, Gerard H. Ros, Wim de Vries, Zed Rengel and Jianbo Shen contributed to the review and editing of the manuscript, data analysis, and language editing.
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Zheng, D., Lyu, Y., Ros, G.H. et al. Heterogeneous co-supplies of phosphorus, sulfur and carbon enhance phosphorus availability by improving rhizosphere processes in a calcareous soil. Plant Soil (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-024-06623-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-024-06623-9