Going Green

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Timing and Precision of Phosphorous Application Critical

Phosphorous is an important fertilizer and a common pollutant.

Research shows starter fertilizer phosphorus not needed for soils testing 'very high' for phosphorus

December 12, 2007

Media Contact: Dr. Deanna Osmond, Department of Soil Science, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, N.C. State University, deanna_osmond@ncsu.edu or 919.515.7303 (This story, with a photo, is also available at:http://www.wen.ncsu.edu/stories/p-fertilizer.html)

Stormwater runoff from agricultural lands that have been excessively fertilized with phosphorus (P) can pollute our drinking water.

But research results by North Carolina State University soil scientists show that by applying only nitrogen (N) in the fertilizer they add when they plant their crops, farmers not only can slowly decrease the amount of...(complete article here).

It could be that we are over-fertilizing with phosphorous. Precision application technology would be a great help with correcting over fertilization.

No comments: