| dc.description.abstract | The influence of two organic materials (OMs); Tithonia and FYM and inorganic materials; triple
superphosphate (TSP) and Minjingu phosphate rock (MPR) and Busumbu phosphate rock (BPR),
when applied alone or in combination, on P sorption at two sites, Kakamega and Bukura, in
western Kenya was investigated. The soil at Bukura was a Ferralsol while that at Kakamega was a
Cambisol. A randomized complete block design with 3 replications was used. All the P inputs were
uniformly broadcast on the plots and then incorporated into the top soil (0-15 cm) in April 2007.
Soils were sampled at 4 and 9 weeks after incorporation of phosphorus inputs (WAI) from each of
the treatments and the soil P sorption characteristics determined. The equilibrium P concentration
which represents the amount of P in the equilibrium solution at zero P sorbed was < 0.2 mg P L1
regardless of the input combination used. The P sorption capacity of the soil at Kakamega was
low compared to that at Bukura and was generally not affected by the treatments. None of the P
sources significantly reduced the amount of P sorbed at Kakamega. However at Bukura, the
amount of P sorbed (q) was significantly lower than the control for only Tithonia when applied
alone and FYM applied in combination with TSP at 4 and 9 WAI. Tithonia applied with TSP | en_US |
