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Phosphorus Management on ‘Extensive' Organic Farms with Infertile Soils

Cornish, P. S. (2007) Phosphorus Management on ‘Extensive' Organic Farms with Infertile Soils. Paper at: 3rd QLIF Congress: Improving Sustainability in Organic and Low Input Food Production Systems, University of Hohenheim, Germany, March 20-23, 2007.

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Summary

Two case-study farms with negative P balances maintained acceptable productivity without fertilisers, apparently by ‘mining’ ‘available’ P reserves in surface and subsoil. The question for these organic farms is ‘how long before fertiliser is needed?’ With six farms on lower-fertility, weakly acidic to alkaline soils and modest rainfall (380-580 mm/yr), low productivity was related to P deficiency despite positive P balances from using allowable fertilisers. Useful supplies of compost or manure were unavailable. Until effective allowable fertilisers or microbial inoculants have been developed, there is a case for using soluble forms of P fertiliser on soils where soil-solution P is low and soil P-sorption is high, so that additions of soluble P ‘feed the soil, not the plant’.


EPrint Type:Conference paper, poster, etc.
Type of presentation:Paper
Keywords:phosphorus, Australia, soil fertility, grain, grazing
Subjects: Soil > Nutrient turnover
Farming Systems > Farm nutrient management
Research affiliation: International Conferences > 2007: 3rd QLIF Congress > 3 Crop production / soil management
Deposited By: Cornish, Prof Peter S
ID Code:9905
Deposited On:06 Mar 2007
Last Modified:12 Apr 2010 07:34
Document Language:English
Status:Published
Refereed:Not peer-reviewed
Additional Publishing Information: The final version of this paper is published in:
Niggli, Urs; Leifert, Carlo; Alföldi, Thomas; Lück, Lorna and Willer, Helga, Eds. (2007) Improving Sustainability in Organic and Low Input Food Production Systems. Proceedings of the 3rd International Congress of the European Integrated Project Quality Low Input Food (QLIF). University of Hohenheim, Germany, March 20 – 23, 2007. Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL, CH-Frick.http://orgprints.org/10417/
Printed copies may be ordered from the FiBL Shop at www.shop.fibl.org.

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