Evaluation of Phosphorus and Sulphur Nutrition on Phosphorus Fractionation in Groundnut Cultivation on Inceptisols of Raigarh, Chhattisgarh, India

Background: The study titled “Evaluation of Phosphorus and Sulphur Nutrition on Phosphorus Fractionation in Groundnut Cultivation on Inceptisols of Raigarh, Chhattisgarh, India” investigated the effects of phosphorus and sulphur fertilization on soil phosphorus distribution in groundnut farming. Conducted over two Rabi seasons (2020-21 and 2021-22), the research focused on acidic (pH-6.2) Inceptisols because of phosphorus fixation predominate in acidic soil, resulting in its low efficiency with low organic carbon content in Raigarh, Chhattisgarh. Methods: The experiment was laid with a factorial randomized block design with four phosphorus levels (P0, P30, P60, P90 kg ha-1) and three sulphur levels (S0, S20, S40 kg ha-1), creating twelve treatment combinations replicated thrice. The study aimed to investigate the effects of these nutrient applications on soil phosphorus fractions, including Saloid-bound, Fe-P, Al-P, Ca-P and Red-P. Result: Phosphorus application notably affected soil phosphorus fractionation, with the highest levels of Saloid-P, Fe-P, Al-P, Ca-P and Red-P observed at 90 kg ha-1, surpassing the control (P0). The dominance order of phosphorus forms was Fe-P greater than Red-P greater than Ca-P greater than Al-P greater than Saloid-P, while sulphur application showed no significant impact, suggesting its limited role in this context due to different biochemical pathways.