Single and coastal superphosphates are equally effective as sulfur fertilisers for subterranean clover on very sandy soils in high rainfall areas of south-western Australia

To reduce leaching of phosphorus (P) from fertilised pastures to shallow estuaries in the high rainfall (>800 mm annual average) areas of south-western Australia, and to supply extra sulfur (S) for subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.) in pasture, 'coastal superphosphate' was developed as a possible alternative P and S fertiliser to single superphosphate. Coastal superphosphate is made by adding phosphate rock and elemental S to single superphosphate as it comes out of the den before granulation. It has about 3 times more sulfur (S) and one-third the water-soluble P content than single superphosphate. Four long-term (5-year) field experiments were conducted in south-western Australia to compare the effectiveness of single and coastal superphosphate as S fertilisers for subterranean clover pasture grown on very sandy soils that are frequently S deficient after July each year due to leaching of S from soil. Seven different amounts of S were applied as fertiliser annually. Fertiliser effectiveness was assessed from clover herbage yield and S concentration in dried herbage. Fertiliser nitrogen was not applied in these experiments as this was the normal practice for pastures in the region when the research was conducted.Both coastal and single superphosphates were equally effective per unit of applied S for producing dried clover herbage and increasing S concentration in herbage. Previous research on very sandy soils in the region had shown that coastal superphosphate was equally or more effective per unit of applied P for production of subterranean clover herbage. It is, therefore, concluded that coastal superphosphate is a suitable alternative S and P fertiliser for clover pastures on very sandy soils in the region. The concentration of S in dried clover herbage that was related to 90% of the maximum yield (critical S) was about 0.20–0.35% S during August (before flowering) and 0.15–0.20% S during October (after flowering).

Phosphorus leaching in sandy soils .I. Short-term effects of fertilizer applications and environmental conditions

The consequences of previous as well as current environmental conditions and management practices on the potential for phosphorus (P) to be lost by drainage from sandy soils in the short term (< 1 year) were studied in the laboratory and the field. The potential for P losses by drainage was estimated by measuring soil solution P levels and rapidly released P. Rapidly released P was measured by determining the concentration of dissolved inorganic P contained in filtered (<0.45 pm) soil solutions after incubating soil at saturation for 15 min at ambient temperature. In the laboratory, sandy soils were incubated with ordinary superphosphate, coastal superphosphate (a granulated mixture of equal parts of superphospate, rock phosphate and elemental sulfur) or lime-superphosphate (a lime-reverted superphosphate with 18% kiln dust) and sequentially desorbed with deionized water. The effects of the extent of leaching, fertilizer type, application rate and the time of contact with the soil on soil solution P levels were investigated. The influence of annual pasture death and summer rainfall on rapidly released P in soils that had been pre-treated by leaching were also investigated. Phosphorus concentrations decreased logarithmically in the successive supernatants of the sequentially desorbed soils. More P was desorbed from soils incubated with superphosphate and lime-superphosphate than soil incubated with coastal superphosphate. At each level of pre-leaching, the P concentrations in the soil solution increased with increasing time. The level, to which the P concentration in the soil solution increased at each time, decreased with increased extent of pre-leaching. The addition of P fertilizers increased the concentration of P in the soil solution. The concentrations increased with increasing application rate and were much higher for superphosphate than for coastal superphosphate; however, there was little effect of contact time on soil solution P levels. Rapidly released P levels after leaching increased during a period of no further leaching. Additional moisture or plant material during this period of no further leaching increased the rate and extent to which rapidly released P increased. Monitoring of rapidly released P in the 0-2, 2-5, 5-10 and 10-20 cm layers of field plots, with and without applications of superphosphate, showed that sampling depth, water flow path, fertilizer management, rainfall pattern and background P levels would affect the estimate of short-term P losses. Rapidly released P in the 0-2 cm layer varied markedly with time and was higher (P < 0.05) than that in lower soil layers. Rapidly released P increased after the winter and spring rains diminished and then decreased after the rains commenced again at the end of the summer. A possible annual cycle of P in sandy soils in a mediterranean climate is postulated by considering the laboratory and field data in combination.

Phosphorus leaching in sandy soils .II. Laboratory studies of the long-term effects of the phosphorus source

Long-term phosphorus (P) losses and gains in sandy soils continuously fertilized with either ordinary superphosphate or coastal superphosphate (a granulated mixture of superphosphate, rock phosphate and elemental sulfur) or previously fertilized with superphosphate were investigated under leaching conditions in columns in the laboratory. The soils were subjected to 10 consecutive cycles designed to simulate the mediterranean weather conditions in the Harvey region of the Coastal Plain of Western Australia. Each cycle consisted of a wet phase during which the equivalent of 850 mm of rainfall was leached through the soil and a drier phase during which the soil was incubated in the presence of moisture equivalent to summer rainfall (150 mm). Dissolved inorganic P in the leachate was used as a measure of P loss. A sequential fractionation procedure (a resin extraction followed by 0.5 M sodium bicarbonate, 0.1 M sodium hydroxide and 0.1 M sulfuric acid extractions) and total inorganic and organic P were used to measure changes in P levels in the soils. Phosphorus losses from the previously fertilized soils decreased logarithmically with increasing number of cycles. Total inorganic P and resin-extractable P were able to explain >94% of the variation in P losses. Addition of either fertilizer increased the amount of P leached from the soil and 10-40% more P was leached by adding superphosphate rather than coastal superphosphate. The percentage of the cumulative P lost by leaching decreased with increasing application rate of both fertilizers when expressed as a percentage of the cumulative water plus citrate-soluble P added. Addition of either fertilizer increased the amount of acid-extractable P, but coastal superphosphate had a much greater effect than superphosphate. Leaching losses of P were influenced by fertilizer solubility in the short term (< 1 year). In the long term, however, the water plus citrate-insoluble P in the fertilizers also contributed to P losses by leaching.