Effect of different phosphorus fertilizer sources, cultivar and soil type on growth performance of soybean

The objective of the study was to determine the effects of phosphorus fertilizer source, soil type, cultivar and season on the growth of soybean plant. The 3 x 2 x 2 factorial experiment fitted in a complete randomized design was conducted during spring and autumn seasons. The experiment comprised three sources of phosphorus fertilizer which were control, single superphosphate and organic phosphate. The two soil types used were sand clay loam and loam sand soil. The two cultivars used in this study were DM 4670RR and DM 5953RSF. Measured parameters were plant height, number of leaves per plant, chlorophyll content, fresh shoot mass and root length. Soil type had significant effect (P≤0.05) on number of leaves per plant, chlorophyll content index, fresh shoot mass and root length. Soybean planted in sand clay loam had significantly higher leaf number, chlorophyll content, shoot mass and root length than soybean planted in loam sand soil. Interaction of phosphorus source x cultivar x planting season had significant effect (P≤0.05) on soybean plant height, number of leaves per plant and fresh shoot mass. In this study, the growth performance of soybean depended on soil type.