The Availability of P and K Contained in Pea and Fababean Residue to a Subsequent Crop
Assess the availability, release and use of P and K from field pea and fababean residues, to subsequest cereal crops.
IPNI-1995-CAN-SK16
30 Mar 1999
1998 Annual Interpretive Summary
Availability of Phosphorus Contained in Pulse Crop Residues to a Subsequent Crop, 1998
Pulse crops are becoming increasingly important in the Canadian Prairies. Last year, the region seeded 2.6 million acres of peas and almost 1 million acres of lentils. Pulses use a lot of P and K and provide beneficial effects to following crops.
This study, now complete, has been investigating P availability to wheat seeded in pulse stubble. Pulse stubble types do not appear to differ in effect on soil P supply or plant P uptake. However, wheat yields and P uptake are greater following peas as compared to fallow. Wheat grown on pea stubble was shown to have greater infection of VAM fungi. VAM are known to increase the plant’s ability to take up P. Pea crop residues were also found to increase water-soluble soil P more than wheat residues because they break down rapidly in the soil. This project has demonstrated that pulses can have a positive impact on P supply to following crops. SK-16F