Evidence of severe phosphorus deficiency was found in grasses and legumes grown in pot culture on six soils from "campos cerrados" in São Paulo and Goiás. The minus-phosphorus treatment in most cases produced only 5 to 10% as much growth as the complete treatment. Dry matter production by pangola grass was lower on all four soils from Goiás when the elements iron, zinc, copper, boron, sulfur and molybdenum were omitted from the fertilizer misture. Similar results were obtained for alfafa on one soil from São Paulo. The data do not indicate which of these elements were involved in this response. Less growth of grass ocurred when nitrogen was omitted, but in no case, either with grasses or legumes, did the omission of potassium have a measurable effect on dry matter production. Omission of lime resulted in reduced growth of alfafa and soybeans, and, on one soil, of Pangola grass.