EFFECT OF SOIL ORDER, pH, TEXTURE AND ORGANIC

MATTER ON THE CORRELATION BET\VEEN PHOSPHORUS

IN ALFALFA AND SOIL-TEST VALUES
I,I. K. joHx', A. L. vax Rvsu'yr, exo J. L. Mesox
Research Statioms, Canada Department of Agricuhwre,
Agassiz, I{amloops and Sunumerland, B.C.
Receivccl April 13, 1967
ABSTRACT
Soil and tissue samples were collected from 192 alfalfa 6elds representing a wide
variery of cultivated soils in British Columbia. The phosphorus content of the
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alfalfa g.as correlated rvith the amounts of ar-ailable P eitracted by eight soil-
test methods. The Olsen method. Brar''s P. nethod. and a modification of
Bray's P, method showed high correlatii,n with plant phosphorus over a rvide
range of soils; the othcr fi\'e methods shorved lorv'er correlation. The relatiorr-
ship observed between soil phosphorus and plant phosphorus diffcred with soil
pH and soil ordcr for the various available-phosphorus methods used. None of
the metl-rods gave significant correlations u'ith the Solonetzic and Podzolic soils.
Multiple correlation studies indicated thar soil pH and texture \\.ere required ro
explain the corrtribution of arailablc phosphorus in soil, as nrcasurcd-by any
soil-tesr merhod. ro phosphorus in alfaifa.
INTRODUCTION
In the Okanagan District of British Columbia, the six mineral soil orders of
Canada are represented with wide variation of texture, pH and organic matter,
providing g.ogd opportunity to study the behavior of-soil-test mEthods under
"
Can. J. Soil. Sci. 1967.47:157-161.

varymg conclltlons.
Plant analysis as a means of diagnosing rhe state of fertility of soils is
widely accepted. Field experiments conducted in the Okanagan district have
shown a significant correlation of 0.65 between percent phosphorus and yield
of alfalfa (unpublished data). Various workers (.4, 7) hive found good
correlation between the concentration of phosphorus in plants and the phos-
phorus determined bv various exrracranrs. According to Bmy (2), rhe
percentage composition of plants should give an indication of the nutrient
status of the soil. This is of great importance in helping to conr-rol nurrient
deficiencies in animals and man by controlling nurrient levels in soils. Com-
parison of soil-test results with the phosphorus*contenr of plants grown on the
soil under field conditions provides a simole method io evaluate soil-tes
methods. In the present worl<. the phosphorus conrenr of alFalFa was com-
pared with the phosphorus determined by several soil tests on a wide range of
soils, and the effects of soil order, pH, textllre and organic matter on the
relationship were investigated.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Samples of alfalfa were collected, together with samples of soil on which the
plants were growing. The alfalfa was sampled on i circular route covering
a uniform soil type through each of the 192 fields, at the one-tenth bloom
stage of grorvth. A total of 20 stems above a height of 7.6 cm was collected
for each sample. Composite soil samples were taken to a depth of about
20 cm. Most of the major cultivated soil types of the Okanagan district of
British Columbia .were represented in the survey. The soil type was identified
by use of a detailed soil map.
'Previously with the B.C. Department of Agriculture, Kelorvna, B.C.
Can. J. Soil Sci. VoI. 47 (1967)

157
 CA\ADIAN JOURNAL OF SOIL SCIENCE lVol, 47

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 October 19671 JOHN ET AL.-PHOSPHORUS SOIL_TEST METHODS 159

Liming is never practised in this area. Phosphate fertilizers are used oc-
-soil
casionally, but such ipplications are made in all zones and no important
difference in fertilization or cultural practices exists between soil zones that
would affect the relationship between elementary composition of alfalfa and
soil factors. The pH values of the soils varied from 5.15 to 8.15, and r,vere
grouped into three pH ranges for certain conlparisons.
_ Plant phosphorus was determined by the molybdenum blue method, after
dry-ashing at 5i0'C. Available phosphorus was ixtracted by Olsen's method
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with 0.5M NaHCO. (6), by Peech's method with l0"l NaOAc in 3\ HOAc
(8), b)'Spurway's method with 0.025N- HOAc (S), by water (t), by Bray's
P. meihod with'0.03t/ NH,F in 0.025t/ HCI (i); by Bray's P,"methbd
with 0.03N NH.F in 0.0251/ HCI (3), and by Bray's ".tdP, method with 0.03N
NH,F in 0.lN HCI (3). Further, two modifiJationJ of Bray's P, method were
used. In the first, designated the P, A method, one drop of 0.ll of Superfloc
(organic flocculent) was added to the soil solution afier shaking for 1 min.
Addition of Superfloc resulted in the immediate settling of the ioil particles,
reducing the filiering time and producing clear filtrates.'The extract;nr solu-
tion, soil-solution ratio, and color-development procedures were the same as
for Bray's P, method. The same modificaiions were used for the P. Ao, method,
except that the soil-solution ratio was changed to 1:20.
Can. J. Soil. Sci. 1967.47:157-161.

Oxidizable orsanic carbon was determined bv the method of Walklev

(10). Particle-sizi distrihution was derermined bv the pipette method de-
scribed by Kilmer and Alexander (5). The pH was measured by a glass
electrode using a l: 1 suspension of soil in water.
Logarithmic, polynomial, and multiple regression analyses (using IBM
1620 programs) were used to study the relationship of the various soil-test
valuei and soil properties to the phosphorus in alfalfa. The coefficients of
determination, correlation coefficients, regression coeficients and their standard
errors, and F-ratios of the reqression coe-ficients were calculated. In all cases
in the statistical study, the lofarithms of the soil-test values were used.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Effect of Soil Order on Soil-Test Correlation
The correlation between soil-test values and the P content of alfalfa varied
considerably with soil order. The Olsen method gave the highest correlation
with the Chernozemic and Brunisolic soils, Bray's P. with Re-g'osolic soils and
Bray's modified R A with Solonetzic and Glevsblic soils (Tabie 1). It should
be mentioned, however, that none of the methods gave significant correlations
with the Solonetzic and Podzolic soils.
The suitabilitv of any method as an esrimate of available P in soil, under
th,e various pH levels, can be ascertained by comparing the correlation co-
efficients (Table 2). The Olsen merhod was mosl superior under the acid
conditions, and was nearly as qood as the best under neutral or alkaline con-
ditions as well. In the soils, the highest correlation of O.7gz was ob-
tained for the R method. "ik"li.rE
The P, methodlr its modifications were ecuallv
effective in neutral and acid soils. It appears, therefore, that either the C)ken
or the Brav P' method can be used 'ivith success in soils of varied reaction.
 160 cANADTAN JouRNAL oF sorr- scrENCE [Vol., 47

Multiple Effect of Textnre, Organic Matter and pH

Statistical analyses showed that the correlation between any soil-test value
and the P content of alfalfa was significantly affected bv pH and texture.
The maximum effect was caused by p"H in the method of P'eeih, clay and sand
in the Bray R method, and organic-matter content in the Olsen method. The
negative influence of pH wis cu-patativelv less in Olsen's method. The
accuracy of Bray's P,, water-extract, Spurway's o-r Peech's method 'was not
improved over the P extracted by the Olsen or the R A method by the inclusion
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of pH, organic matter, clay and sand.

The lack of sisnificant correlation between an\. soil-test values and P in
alfalfa in the Solonitzic and Podzolic soils could not be explained bv the varia-
tion jn pH. organic mattcr. clav or sand. \\-ith the Podzolic soils.'P in alfalfa
was generallv high (average 0.333:,{) and lacked the low levels of P in the
soils to give either a linear or logarithmic increment in plant P. The reason for
the lorv correlation coefficients in the Soionetzic soils is not fullv understood.
However. nutritional disorder' and poor phvsical condition associated u'ith the
natric subsoil could be responsible.

Cormparison of Soil-Test Methods f or the Hete,rogeneous Soil

Can. J. Soil. Sci. 1967.47:157-161.

When the soils were considered as one group in estimating the available P in
soil, Olsen's bicarbonate and Bray's P, solutions urere about equally effective,
and were better than an\r of the other exffaction solutions. The hisher overall
coefficients for the modificd Brar-'s P, A and the Olsen bicarbon"ate method
correspond to the fact that these two methods were influenced less by pH
and texture, and were invariablv superior to other methods among soils of
different orders (Table 1), or the soils grouped into pF{ ranges
(Table 2). "mutrg
The effect of modification of the Brav P, method on the correlation
coefficients is evident to a certain extent. Use of Superfloc improved the cor-
relation from 0.628 to 0.647. In manv soiis. che modified R A method extracted
lesser amounts than the original Bray P. method. This was apparently due to
the shorter time of contact between soil and solution. However, increasing
the soil solution ratio to 1:20 reduced the correlation to 0.597. Brav's P, method
gave the poorest correlation, v'ith progressively improved correlaiion with the
methods of Peech, Spurway, and water extraction.

CONCLUSIONS
Many of the soil-test methods appeared to be satisfactory for specific soil
conditions. Flo$'ever, the data in this report support the idea that in a hetero-
geneous area, certain soil-test methods cannot be used successfully. The Olsen
method or the Bray P, method appeared to be suitable for many of the soil
conditions that were studied. The fact that the Bray R method is accurate,
simple, and rapid, warrants its adaptation to routine liboratory analysis. In a
few of the highly alkaline and acid soils, erratic results were obtained with
Bray's R method due to prolonged time of contact between the soil and the
extractant while filtering. This was overcome by the use of Superfloc, and
the modification improved the correlation for certain soils.
 October 19671 JOHN ET AL.-PHOSPHORUS SOII,-TES]] METHODS 161

Improvements in the interpretation of the test were Possible when such

properties as pH, soil texture and organic matter were considered. However,
it is logical to assume that there were other factors such as drainage, subsoil
fertiliti and various phvsical and chemical conditions inherent wiihin many
soil orders which were also responsible for the separate relationships.

REFERENCES
1. Brxcrrerr, F. T. 1919. Soil test for phosphate. California Asr. 3(8), 11-14.
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2. Bnev, R. FI. 1948. Correlation of soil tests rvith crop response to added fertilizers and
u'ith.fertilizcr requirement. Diagnostic techniques for soils and crops. The American
Potash Institute, Washington, D.C.
3. Bnav, R. H. and Kunrz, L. T. 19,15. Determination of total, organic, and available
forms of phosphorus in soils. Soil Sci. 59,39-46.
4. Henocr, D. L. and Arror, O. J. 19i4. Correlation of phosphorus content of alfalfa
r'vith pH and forms of soil phosphorus. Soil Sci, Soc. Am. Proc. lB, 64-67.
5. Krr-uon, V. J. and Ar-oxaxnon, L. T. 1949, N,Iethods of making mechanical analyses
of soils. Soil Sci. 68, 15-24.
6. C)rsnN, S. R., Cor.e, C. V., Werex-r.nr, F. S., and DneN, L. A. 1954. Estimation of
available phosphorus in soils by exuaction rvith NaHCO.. United States Dept. Agr.
Circ. 939.
7. P-rcr, M. R. and Gorlnx, R. S. 1956. Correlation between plant analysis and soil tests
in New Mexico. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc. 20, 529-53I.
8. Procu, l{. and Excrrsu, L. 1944. Rapid nricro-chemical soil test. SoiI Sci. 57,167-195.
Can. J. Soil. Sci. 1967.47:157-161.

9. Srunwav, C. FI. 19J3. Soil testing; a practical system of soil diagnosis. Atlich. Agr.
Expt. Sta. Tech. Bull. 132.
10. Wer-rrn,v, A. 1935. An examinarion of methods for determining organic carbon and
nitrogen in soil. J. Agr. Sci. 25,598-609.
 This article has been cited by:

1. Daniel Geisseler, Gene Miyao. 2016. Soil testing for P and K has value in nutrient management for
annual crops. California Agriculture 70:3, 152-159. [Crossref]
2. Matt K. John. 1972. Extractable phosphorus related to forms of phosphorus and other soil properties.
Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 23:12, 1425-1433. [Crossref]
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Can. J. Soil. Sci. 1967.47:157-161.