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Organic Farming, Prototype for Sustainable Agricultures pp 23–45Cite as

Soil Phosphorus Management in Organic Cropping Systems: From Current Practices to Avenues for a More Efficient Use of P Resources

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Abstract

Phosphorus (P) is a major nutrient for all living organisms and a key production factor in agriculture. In crop production, it is usually supplied to soils through fertilisers or recycled manure and compost. Organic production guidelines ban the use of highly soluble, manufactured P fertilisers and, thus, recommend recycling P from livestock manure and compost. In this chapter, after an overview of P dynamics in soils, we explore the consequences of such guidelines in terms of field- and farm-gate P budget, soil P availability and crop productivity. Moreover, we propose some avenues for the more effective use of P resources, ranging from rhizosphere-based processes (e.g., soil microorganism manipulation), genotype selection and cropping practices (e.g., intercropping), to farming system design (e.g., a combination of crops and animals at the farm scale). Finally, the potential benefits of these options are compared with respect to soil P status, field- and farm-P budgets.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    In this chapter, the terms ‘crop’ and ‘cropping’ are considered in their general meaning, i.e., relating to arable crops as well as to grasslands pastures and horticultural crops.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. BORDEAUX SCIENCES AGRO-INRA, UMR1220 TCEM Transfert Sol-Plante et Cycle des Éléments Minéraux dans les Ecosystèmes Cultivés, 33175, CS 40201, Gradignan Cedex, France

    Thomas Nesme

  2. IINRA-INP Toulouse, UMR1248 AGIR, Castanet-Tolosan, France

    Bruno Colomb

  3. INRA, UMR1222 Eco&Sols, 34060, Montpellier, France

    Philippe Hinsinger

  4. Scottish Agricultural College, Craibstone Estate, AB21 9YA, Aberdeen, UK

    Christine A. Watson

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  1. Thomas Nesme
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  2. Bruno Colomb
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  3. Philippe Hinsinger
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  4. Christine A. Watson
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Correspondence to Thomas Nesme .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Unité Ecodéveloppement, INRA, Avignon Cedex 09, France

    Stéphane Bellon

  2. Unité Ecodéveloppement, INRA, Avignon Cedex 09, France

    Servane Penvern

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Nesme, T., Colomb, B., Hinsinger, P., Watson, C. (2014). Soil Phosphorus Management in Organic Cropping Systems: From Current Practices to Avenues for a More Efficient Use of P Resources. In: Bellon, S., Penvern, S. (eds) Organic Farming, Prototype for Sustainable Agricultures. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7927-3_2

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