Deficient Phosphorus Levels in Corn and Soybean Farm Soils of Talladega and St. Clair Counties

Undergraduate #171
Discipline: Chemistry and Chemical Sciences
Subcategory: Chemistry (not Biochemistry)

Jasmine English - Talladega College
Co-Author(s): Kishor Jotani, Talladega College, Talladega, AL

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Organisms require phosphorus in large amounts and it must be obtained from an outside source. Phosphate is important in the transfer of energy within the cell to drive chemical reactions. Phosphate is categorized as a macronutrient because plants require it in large amounts. Growing crops requires paying close attention to the phosphorus content of soil. The phosphorus cycle depicts how phosphorus changes forms when moving through an ecosystem. Plants use phosphorus in the orthophosphate form, absorbing from the solution phosphorus pool in soil. Soil provides a home to organisms and microorganisms, a site for chemical reactions, and a nutrient foundation for plants. Runoff from soil can be rich in nutrients like phosphorus, causing eutrophication of surface waters. This should be kept in mind when adding fertilizers to farm soil to prevent phosphorus deficiency. Growing crops requires attention to soil phosphorus content. In this study, the quantity of phosphorus was determined from soil samples. Soil samples contained an average of 18.7 ppm of available phosphorus. With regard to this amount of phosphorus, to grow corn, a farmer would need to add approximately 11.15 kg of phosphate fertilizer per acre. To grow soybeans, the same farmer would need to add approximately 13 kg of phosphate fertilizer. These studies hold an economic value to farmers whose life’s work depends on producing an optimum crop.

Funder Acknowledgement(s): Department of Education - P217A120162

Faculty Advisor: kjotani@talladega.edu, kjotani@talladega.edu

Role: I conducted my research during the summer of 2016. The samples were collected. We extracted 5 g of soil and then the soil was weighed and transferred to a 100 mL conical flask. The extracted solution was added to the soil, and shaken and was used to filter the soil extract and filtrate was used to measure Absorbance at 690 nm.