Summary
This comparative study evaluated five established soil phosphorus tests using data from long-term field experiments (some >100 years old) across five European countries and 11 contrasting soil types. Quantity-based tests generally provided better prediction of crop yield than intensity-based tests when using Mitscherlich models, though no single test was clearly superior except that oxalate extraction performed poorly. The combination of quantity and intensity tests provided marginally better predictive capacity than any single test, and critical phosphorus values derived from this analysis are proposed as valid benchmarks across Europe.
UK applicability
The study included long-term field trials from European soil types and provides critical phosphorus values applicable across Europe, potentially including UK conditions. However, the UK was one of five participating countries, and findings may require validation for specific UK soil types and farming contexts.
Key measures
Crop yield responses (n=317); soil phosphorus concentrations measured by five different extraction methods; goodness of fit in Mitscherlich models; critical P values across soil types
Outcomes reported
The study evaluated five established soil phosphorus tests (ammonium oxalate, ammonium lactate, Olsen P, calcium chloride, and DGT) against crop yield data from 218 soil samples across 11 soil types in long-term field experiments. The research assessed the predictive capacity of quantity-based tests versus intensity-based tests for estimating crop response to available phosphorus.
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