Soil and fertilizer phosphorus utilization from full basal, split and foliar application of phosphate by Chickpea (Cicer arietinum) Using isotopic tracer

Increasing levels of basal application of phosphate from 15 to 60 kg P₂O₄/ha to chickpea showed a steady rise in per cent phosphorus derived from fertilizer as well as fertilizer P uptake values. The application of phosphate in two splits (half as basal and half as top-dressed 25 days after sowing) at both the levels of phosphate (30 and 60 kg P₂O₅/ha) did not prove beneficial as judged by the lower % Pdff, fertilizer P uptake and % P utilization over full basal application. Moreover, the results from alternate tagging technique revealed that chickpea crop utilized relatively more P from the basal dose than from the top-dressed one. The foliar application of P (15 kg P₂O₅/ha) to the crop grown on soil deficient in available P was not found comparable with soil application in relation to P uptake at equivalent level.