phosphorus requirement of Amaranthus mangostanus L. exceeds the 'change point' of P loss

Due to the high economic value of vegetables, farmers in China often apply more fertilizer than is required for plant growth. This leads to phosphorus accumulation in soils, which can pollute the aquatic environment. This conflict arises because vegetables often use nutrients inefficiently, and require high phosphorus levels in the growth medium. In this study, amaranth (Amaranthus mangostanus L.) was grown in soils with 14.7, 23.8, 45.3, 54.6, 74.2, 101 or 116 mg Olsen-P/kg, and with and without phosphorus fertilizer (175 mg P/kg or equivalent to 385 kg P/ha). The yield of amaranth was positively correlated with soil Olsen-P content. CaCl₂-P content was positively correlated with Olsen-P content and CaCl₂-P markedly increased at Olsen-P contents exceeding 53.8 mg P/kg in the pot experiment or 55.9 mg P/kg in the field survey. These values were regarded as the 'change points' for phosphorus loss; to achieve 85 or 95% of maximum amaranth yield, the amaranth crop required 91or 101 mg Olsen-P/kg soil, respectively, and application of 175 mg P/kg was still able to significantly increase amaranth yield at an Olsen-P level of 74.2 mg P/kg soil. These results indicated that the phosphorus requirement of amaranth exceeded the 'change point' (53.8 or 55.9 mg Olsen-P/kg); the Cmin (minimum concentration in the media at which no net influx occurs) of phosphorus for 3-week-old amaranth was 1.55 μ m. This value is much higher than that reported for other crops, and may explain the inefficient P use of amaranth. The high Cmin value also indicates that the phosphorus requirement of amaranth is beyond the 'change point' of P loss.