EFFECTS OF PHOSPHATES.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 452, 30 March 1912, Page 6

EFFECTS OF PHOSPHATES.

Perhaps their most important property is to stimulate root action and the formation of new rootlets. This gives the plant a start in life and aids it to resist insect and fungoid pests. The phosphate itself by making the plant more compact and sturdy, also makes it more healthy and resistant. As practically all the phosphate applied as manure remains in the iirst nine inches of the soil it tends to make the roots shallower' and thus to counteract the effects of soluble nitrogenous manure. This causes the crop to mature eariler, which is often very important in a wet season. Fluwering, setting of the seeds, and its ripening are also aided; this is especially the case with leguminous crops, as beans, peas, vetches, etc. Turning to the soil and its bacterial activity, which accounts so largely for the supply and availability of the nitrogen, it is to be noted that phosphates have a very stimulating effect on practically all bacteria, and therefore tend to increase the nitrogen of the soil especially when used in conjunction with potash. Further as reports on manuring for milk go to show phopshates tend to increase both the quantity and quality of the milk.