Abstract

The value of the cereal grains for human nutrition is governed to a large extent by the nature and amount of the protein and also the form of phosphorus synthesised by the plants. It has been known for a long time that a large proportion of the total phosphorus present in cereals and vegetables may be present in the form of Phytin, the calcium magnesium salt of inositol-hexaphosphoric acid. But, there is no agreed opinion among the scientists regarding its usefulness. Thus Starkenstein (1910) Hutchison and Mottram (1933), held that the compound was useful while Plimmer (1913) showed that it was not utilized by human beings. More evidence chiefly due to the studies of Mecance and and Widdowson (1935), indicated that the phosphorus of phytin' was not available to a great extent to the human system. So studies were undertaken to see how far the different forms of phosphorus occurring in the grains varied with the application of different kinds of fertilisers, both singly and in combinations, and the results are furnished in this paper.

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