Effect of elemental sulphur timing and application rates on soil P release and concentration in maize

High ph soil accounts for more that 30 percent of world's soils and poses problems to plant nutrient availability. as a cheap and readily available source of soil acidulates,elemental sulphur may be a useful material for alleviating some alkaline soil problems. to elucidate the role of elemental sulphur as a soil amendment for plant production in a high ph soil,maize plants were grown under greenhouse conditions for 45 days after 0,20 and 40 days of soil incubation at different rates of elemental sulphur (0,0.5,1 and 2 g s kg-1 of soil). soils were sampled two times (before and after planting) and subjected to soil ph and available p determination. the results showed with each unit increase in s rate,soil ph decreases by 1.52 units. in addition,while sulphur application increased available p before planting,it failed to increase p supply to maize at harvest. supporting the role of elemental s on soil p availability,with increasing s application rate the p concentration in maize root,stem and leaves was successively decreased. this relationship can be explained by the dilution of p in increasing leaf biomass and the similar concomitant increase of both zinc and manganese nutrient concentrations with increasing sulphur application rate. overall,soil acidification by elemental sulphur application resulted in p reduction in soil labile pools and intensified p deficiency in maize. © universiti putra malaysia press.