No, this The text does not deal with financial investment in banks or stock exchanges. This is a traditional strategy in agriculture and defended by many: use of phosphate fertilizer to form a reserve of phosphorus in the soil, the so-called savings, used to guarantee future availability of phosphorus to plants.
But before get into this subject, we will use information from the financial market to answer the question: Is Savings a good investment? Consulting Google (12/Jan/2022), We found the answer below:
In fact, the Investment in Savings is relatively safe, however, not very profitable. They exist other options that are just as safe and can provide a better result than the Savings income.
Phosphorus savings in ground: is the result of the continuous application, for years and years, of quantities of phosphate fertilizer above the plants' needs, generating an accumulation of phosphorus in the soil. Technically there is no error in this positioning; The Phosphating is an example of this. This is a phosphorus correction technique of the soil with the application of phosphate fertilizers, which are incorporated or not in the soil profile. This is a practice that aims to elevate soil phosphorus availability. However, to what extent is it worth putting all your resources in this investment? This question is asked because the balance between practical, technical and economic actions must be achieved, as there is no point in adopting a technically justified strategy without being economically feasible or practical. For example, GAPE (Research and Extension Support Group), provides the guidance below to make a decision on the use of phosphating.
To give numbers to this strategy (Phosphating) and to be able to mathematically analyze this practice, we will carry out an analysis of the management of phosphate fertilizers over 20 years of cultivation in a soybean (summer harvest)/corn (off-season) rotation system. We know that the continuous use of this rotation system has negative points, as the use of other cover crops brings benefits to the system; but to facilitate the calculations, this was the rotation system considered.
Phosphate fertilizer: Amount applied versus Use: let's consider a situation of a farmer who has been cultivating soybeans and off-season corn in the same area for 20 years. To the Throughout this period he used, on average, every year, 90 kg P2O5/ha and 60 kg P2O5/ha in soybean and corn fertilization, respectively. In this management, over the 20 years of cultivation, this farmer put 3.000 kg P2O5/ha in your soil. Let's consider that in this period, the average productivity of soybeans and off-season corn was 50 sc/ha and 80 sc/ha, respectively. It is known that to produce 1,0 t of soybeans and 1,0 t of corn, these crops export (remove from the crop) 11,0 kg P2O5/t and 6,87 kg P2O5/t, respectively. That is, throughout of these 20 years, the amount of phosphorus that came out of the crop (at harvest) was of 660 kg P2O5/ha (in soybeans) and 659 kg P2O5/ha (in off-season corn), totaling 1.319 kg P2O5/ha. In short, there would be a balance of 3.000 – 1.319 = 1.681 kg P2O5/ha after 20 years of cultivation.
This balance (1.681 kg P2O5/ha) should show an increase of 367,0 mg P/dm3 to the phosphorus content in the soil. However, we know that in In practice, this account does not “close” in this way, as there is research showing the how much the phosphorus content in the soil increases with each kilogram of phosphorus applied to the soil ground. According to Embrapa, for a soil with 45% clay, 18 kg are needed P2O5/ha to increase the water content by 1 mg/dm3 phosphorus determined in Mehlich 1. Using this information in our example, the balance of phosphorus that “remained” in the soil (1.681 kg P2O5/ha) would result in an addition of 93,4 mg P/dm3 to the soil's phosphorus content. According to the Soil Fertility Commission in the State of Minas Gerais, soils with clay content = 45% and P contents greater than 12 mg/dm3 are classified as “Good Phosphorus Content”. In our example we have an increase in P content 7,78x what is considered “Good”. However, in practice, we have seen that the so-called “old areas” of agricultural cultivation that present high levels of phosphorus have levels in the order of 25 to 30 mg/dm3 (levels high).
Much is said about fixing phosphorus in the soil, but little is said about the aging process of phosphorus in the soil. This is a well-known phenomenon and explains why, with the As time goes by, the availability of phosphorus applied via fertilizer becomes reduced.
We know that plants do not need soils with high nutrient contents, because what they need are soils with suitable nutrient contents. Therefore, the call saving phosphorus in the soil (high levels of phosphorus in the soil) would not, in immediate benefits to the crop.
From the above, it appears that to achieve the so-called saving of phosphorus in the soil, it is necessary to apply of phosphate fertilizer in greater quantities than will be expected in the future available to plants. As phosphate fertilizer is not free (it has high participation in the cost of production) and the reserves used for its production are finite, their use to raise phosphorus levels in the soil to values above what plants need must be reconsidered.
And now, it's worth investing in soil improvement? The answer is YES, because without due correction of fertility, in the case of phosphorus, we will have a short “slat” in the famous barrel of the Minimum Law and, consequently, limitation of productivity. The question to reflecting is not IF IT'S WORTH INVESTING and sim HOW TO INVEST in correction of fertility.
Returning to the market example financial situation, we have to think about the “5 investments better than savings for invest your money.” Making a parallel to the topic we are addressing, Investing only when applying phosphate fertilizers (phosphorus supply), making the so-called saving of phosphorus in the soil, is not the only strategy available to ensure good availability of phosphorus to plants and, consequently, good productivity. As the example in the figure above suggests, There are other strategies that will guarantee a better return on investment carried out, which are:
We also cannot forget the 4C concept, used to increase fertilization efficiency:
To the 4C Concept We could add one more item (Concept 5C?), which would be (soil) management Correct, involving practices such as Direct Planting System, correction of soil compaction and acidity, increase in soil organic matter content, etc.
"And now Jose?" What is your opinion about saving money? phosphorus in the soil?
Receive the latest agriculture news by email
Receive the latest agriculture news by email
Use of fungicides is an important control tool whenever associated with other management strategies; It is essential to direct efforts to prevent the selection of less sensitive or resistant fungal isolates
