Efficient application of phosphorus key to crop growth

Verdesian Life Sciences said recently that the management of key essential nutrients, like phosphorus, is necessary to boost crop yields to meet the food demands of a rapidly growing population. 
Phosphorus is present as phosphate in every living cell, and soil in some areas has insufficient levels of plant-available phosphate which continues to dwindle because of reactions to calcium, magnesium, aluminum and/or iron, preventing crops from getting the amount of phosphate needed to reach full growth potential.
Soil tests from the International Plant Nutrition Institute suggested that phosphorus is being under-applied in large portions of the U.S. Corn Belt. In other parts of the country, like the central and eastern parts of the Corn Belt, the nutrient is being over-applied so a balance needs to be found.
“The key to producing higher yields and feeding the growing world population is not simply applying more fertilizer, as one might think,” Verdesian Life Sciences CEO Kenneth Avery said. “Rather, it is finding sustainable solutions for nutrients such as phosphorus to be used more efficiently and effectively to produce more food.”
Verdesian. based in ary, Nort Carolina, is a 4Rs Nutrient Stewardship Partner. The four tenets of the program recommend applying nutrients from the right source, at the right time and at the right place and rate. “The 4Rs Nutrient Stewardship Program provides a science-based framework for building sustainable systems,” Avery said.