Comparing ratings of the southern phosphorus indices.(RESEARCH)

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, November, 2006 by Cabrera, M.L.; Feagley, S.E.; Hardee, G.E.; Mitchell, C.C.; Moore, P.A. Jr.; Mylavarapu, R.S.; Oldham, J.L.; Osmond, D.L.; Stevens, J.C.; Thom, W.O.; Walker, F.; Zhang, H.

The use of site assessment indices to guide agricultural phosphorus (P) nutrient management has been widely adopted in the United States. This study compares P-index ratings from 12 southern states (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas) on fields representing three dominant southern agricultural systems: upland pasture, upland cornfield, and artificially drained field. The structure of each P-index varied enough to produce widely divergent ratings when applied to similar scenarios where individual factors (such as soil test P, poultry broiler litter application rate, or buffer absence or presence) were adjusted across a broad range of P-index input values. Variation in...

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