Research shows starter fertilizer phosphorus not needed for
soils testing 'very high' for phosphorus December 12, 2007 Media
Contact: Dr. Deanna Osmond, Department of Soil Science, College
of Agriculture and Life Sciences, N.C. State University,
firstname.lastname@example.org or 919.515.7303 (This story, with
a photo, is also available at: Stormwater runoff from
agricultural lands that have been excessively fertilized with
phosphorus (P) can pollute our drinking water. But research
results by North Carolina State University soil scientists show
that by applying only nitrogen (N) in the fertilizer they add
when they plant their crops, farmers not only can slowly
decrease the amount of phosphorus that shows up in soil tests,
but can also reduce their phosphorus fertilizer application
costs. "Overall, using only starter nitrogen fertilizer would
produce yields similar to those achieved with nitrogen and
phosphorus starter fertilizer in soils that test very high for
phosphorus," says Dr. Deanna Osmond, professor