The use of microbe plus to improve phosphorus availability from rock phosphate under oil palm (Elaesis guineensis, Jacq.) nursery

The need to improve phosphorus availability from rock phosphate with readily available product is of prime importance in crop production. The overall objective of the research was to improve P availability from RP using MP and the subsequent effect on biomass nutrient concentration and P uptake. The research was conducted at OPRI of Ghana, Kade-Kusi in the semi-deciduous zone of the country. Soil available P, seedlings frond nutrient content and P uptake was evaluated on oil palm seedlings at the nursery. The study was a 4 × 4 factorial experiment arranged in RCBD with 3 replications. P fertilizers; Po, TSP, SRP, TRP and Microbe Plus at rates of 0, 50, 100, 150 % were applied. Data obtained were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) using Genstat statistical package (12.1 ed.). The results showed significant (p<0.05) influence of the applied inputs on the parameters determined. TSPMP150 and TSPMP100 complementary applications produced the highest soil available P and P uptake in seedling fronds by 285 and 161 % significant (p<0.05) increase over the control respectively at 10 MAT. Deficient K and Ca contents in frond biomass were recorded at the end of the trial. Field experiments are therefore recommended to validate the effects of MP and the P fertilizers on soil microbial dynamics and seedlings growth performance.