Leaf phosphorus and sorghum yield under rainfed cropping of a Vertisol

Little attention has been devoted to the calibration of plant P tests for sorghum, especially under rainfed cropping although information is needed for developing an efficient P management strategy for increasing crop productivity. A field experiment was conducted for three years (1987–1989) to study the response of sorghum to fertilizer P (0, 10, 20 and 40 kg P ha-1) on a Vertisol, low in extractable P, at the ICRISAT Center, Patancheru (near Hyderabad), India. One sorghum crop was grown each year during the rainy season (June–September). Leaf tissue samples consisting of newest, fully-developed leaf, were collected at 50% flowering stage of the crop, for establishing relationship between leaf P concentration and grain yield. During the three years,sorghum grain yield and leaf P concentration increased in response to P application up to 40 kg P ha-1 and the leaf P concentration was linearly related to grain yield (r2 varied from 0.724 to 0.993). The critical leaf P concentration at 90% of the maximum grain yield was found to be about 0.25% P. Phosphorus content in the grain was not significantly correlated to yield.