The objective of this work was to quantify the main forms of P derived from fertilizer in soils of varying physical and chemical properties, cultivated with sugar-cane, in Pernambuco. Soils from 11 commercial plantations were sampled following the harvest of the plant-cane (Jan. 1994), that had been fertilized in the furrow 18 months before. To find samples with fertilizer-derived P, a pit was opened perpendicular to the plant line and 28 soil samples were taken with the aid of a metal grid measuring 70 cm long by 40 cm high, with 10x10 cm cells. The grid was fixed 10 cm below the soil surface and centered on the residues of the seedpieces. Phosphorus in all these samples was extracted with 0.1 mol L-1 NaOH. In all cases the largest P concentrations were found in the 10-20 cm layer. Two samples were then selected from this layer for additional work, those with the highest and lowest NaOH extractable-P content, for each soil. Phosphorus in these selected samples was sequentially extracted with resin (P-res), NaHCO3 (inorganic and organic P-bic), NaOH (inorganic and organic P-OH), H2SO4 (P-ac.), and followed by a final digestion with H2SO4 and H2O2 (P-rdu). Most of the difference between samples with high and low P contents (DP), attributed to the fertilization 18 months before, was found in inorganic (P-res, Pi-bic, Pi-OH and P-ac)) forms. In five of the soils, fine textured and with high dithionite-extractable Fe and Al, more than 50% of DP was found as Pi-OH. In the other six soils, P was similarly distributed among P-res, P-bic and P-OH or even favored the resin and bicarbonate-extractable forms (more sandy soils). The presence of large amounts of labile P-res and P-bic forms, even after 18 months of soil-fertilizer contact, suggests the possibility of obtaining residual fertilizer effects in some of these soils.
P fractionation; phosphate fertilization; P availability