Abstract

Beneficial effects of phosphatic fertilizer on the growth of green manure and also the availability of the phosphorus contained in it have been reported by Parr and Sen (1948), Venkatarao and Govindarajan (1952), Khan and Mathur (1953), Shende and Sen (1958), Panos (1959), Raheja (1961) and Singh (1961). But Krishna Rao et al. (1962) did not find any special benefit by the application of phosphate to the green manure crop intended for paddy. Similarly, the experiments sponsored by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and conducted in the Madras State from 1958 to 1963 did not indicate any beneficial effect due to the application of phosphate to the green manure crops on paddy soils. In view of the conflicting results it was thought of interest to investigate the uptake of fertilizer phosphorus by the green manure crop using P3 and assess its availability in some of the paddy soils of India.

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