By Rafael Garcia, CEO and Founder of Agrobiológica Sustentabilidade, a company of the Crop Care Holding group.
Without phosphorus, there is no life in the field. It is indispensable for plant health, acting as the currency for the energy used in growth. But, to understand the dimension and importance of this element for the increase of productivity, a brief geographical and scientific context is necessary.
Brazilian soils are geologically very old. Experts point out that our territory presents one of the most complete geological records, with testimonies of more than 3 billion years of evolution of the rocks that form the basis of the Earth’s relief.
This means that a good part of the Brazilian soils are acidic and poor in nutrients, which hinders the development of very important crops, such as corn, for example. With the natural fertility of the soil considered low, modern agriculture has come to prioritize the application of inputs. One of them is phosphorus, present in very small quantities until now.
Because this element is not naturally present in our soils, it is traditionally imported from other countries. The regular application of phosphorus in agriculture began in the mid-1960s. And precisely because we have an older, more clayey type of soil, this element has been fixed over the years of continuous application of inputs to crops, with the help of another great ally of agriculture, iron, responsible for the red color of the soil.
The plants absorb only about 20% to 30% of the phosphorus that is applied, the rest is retained in the soil. With this, a concept called the Phosphor Bank was created. In 2018, Embrapa estimated that a total of 45.7 million tons of phosphorus were applied in Brazil from 1960, when regular use of the input in agriculture began, to the time of the survey. At the time, it was estimated that 22.8 million tons of this amount is still fixed in the soil.
At the same time that we have this “reserve” of phosphorus in the soil, there is already talk of a worldwide shortage of the nutrient, which makes sense, since we are talking about a finite resource. According to expert estimates, the sources of the element could be exhausted in as little as 50 to 100 years. But with the rapid growth of the world population and the high demand for food, depletion may take an even shorter time.
But in the case of Brazil, which counts on this “bank of phosphorus” accumulated over the years, how can it access its reserves in an eventual crisis scenario generated by the lack of phosphorus? The secret is in the roots of the plants.
As they grow and go deeper into the soil in search of water, they produce some sugars and other substances that feed groups of microorganisms, which in turn produce organic acids and enzymes, accessing the phosphorus and iron reserves, “pulling” these nutrients back to the plant along with the water. Once they are absorbed, we can count on a more developed plant and, consequently, greater productivity and profitability for the rural producer.
Nowadays, the market already counts on efficient products that help in the solubilization of phosphorus in the soil, most of them destined to big crops, such as soy and corn. And even better: these products are organic. An example is Flexroots, a technology developed by Agrobiológica that fulfills this function.
These products, by making phosphorus available, increase root volume, which helps in the absorption of more water and nutrients. It is one of the solutions to the shortages we may face in the future. Brazilian agriculture is resilient, and phosphorus, as always, proves to be one of the main pillars for its strength.
Research Sources: Federal Institute of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), National Geographic Brasil and Science Direct
About Crop Care
Crop Care is a Brazilian holding company that operates in the chemical, biological, and specialty fertilizer market. Among Crop Care’s investments are Agrobiológica Sustentabilidade, an innovative platform for biological and on-farm solutions; Perterra and K2, which have an extensive post-patent agrochemical portfolio; Union Agro, a leader in specialty fertilizers; and Cromo Química, which specializes in the production of high-performance adjuvants and enhancers for agriculture. Through partnerships with distributors and cooperatives, and direct access to agricultural companies, Crop Care is present in major producing regions in Latin America.
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