Efficiency of HCl- and H2SO4-acidulated rock phosphates for a rice based cropping system

Pot experiments were conducted with an acid laterite soil and a shallow black calcareous soil to study the effect of initial application of North Carolina and Udaipur rock phosphates, acidulated with HCl or H2SO4 to the extent of 25, 50, 75 or 100% of the requirement for complete conversion into superphosphate, on the grain yield and P uptake by crops in rice—wheat and wheat—rice cropping sequences. The products obtained on acidulation with HCl or H2SO4 at a given degree behaved similarly. Rock phosphates partially acidulated with HCl or H2SO4 to 50–75% could be used successfully for growing rice or wheat on both the soil types. In the rice—wheat sequence, the wheat crop following rice gave very low grain yields compared to the wheat crop in the wheat—rice rotation, while in the wheat—rice rotation the rice crop following wheat gave yields comparable to that of rice in the rice—wheat rotation. The reasons for this differential effect have been made plausible. The studies indicate that a 50–75% H2SO4 - or HCl-acidulated rock phosphate may be used as a single application to an upland crop in an upland crop—rice rotation especially on acid soils, where the water soluble fractions of the product are used by the wheat crop. During the process of growth of the upland crop under aerobic soil conditions, the citrate soluble and insoluble fractions undergo such transformations that make it possible for the following rice crop to utilize them under waterlogged conditions.