Grain and biomass yield reduction due to Russian wheat aphid on bread wheat in northern Ethiopia

Information on P sorption characteristics of soils is important for making profitable P fertiliser recommendations and designing appropriate P management strategies for improving crop productivity. An experiment was conducted to determine the P sorption capacities and external P requirements (EPR) of some soils of southern Ethiopia. Sorption data were obtained by equilibrating 3.0 g of each sample with 30 ml of 0.01 M CaCl 2 containing various amounts of KH 2 PO 4 . The data were then fitted to the Langmuir and Freundlich Equations. Results revealed that both models fitted well with the P sorption data of the soils. The adsorption maxima (Xm) and bonding energy (b) values of the soils derived from Langmuir model were in the ranges of 560-833 mg P kg -1 and 0.16-20 L kg -1 , respectively. The Freundlich capacity factor (Kf) ranged from 237 to 1200 mg kg -1 .The EPRs of the soils predicted by both models correlated well (r = 0.99) and ranged from 54 to 667 mg P kg-1. Forty three percent of the soils had EPR values 150 mg P kg -1 and were classified as high P sorbing soils. Exchangeable Al 3+ and Fe 2+  significantly and positively correlated with X m , b and Kf. Aluminium and Fe 2+ are major soil properties responsible for the variations in P sorption capacities of the soils. Key Words : Freundlich, Langmuir Equation, P adsorption