Phosphorus fixation and its relationship with soils chemical properties of the coffee zone of Huila, Colombia

Adsorption is one of the critical processes in phosphorus (P) availability in plants. In the coffee crop (Coffea arabica), the highest dose of P is supplied in the vegetative phase, so its management is fundamental to guarantee the optimum growth of plants. The aim of this work was to determine the P fixation capacity and its relationship with the soil chemical properties of the Huila coffee zone, Colombian department, with the largest area planted with coffee. The adsorption isotherms were obtained by equilibrating the soil with 30mL of KH2PO4 solution dissolved in a 0.01M CaCl2.2H2O, containing concentrations of P between 50 and 4.200 mg kg-1. The P adsorption was measured for 60 soil samples collected from the five main cartographic units of the department: Campoalegre, El Recreo, La Cristalina, Saladoblanco, and San Simón. The data fitted to the linear and nonlinear Langmuir model forms. It was found that the soils of the region have a variable P fixation capacity, with values of q (adsorption at 0.2 mg L-1 in solution) between 8 and 1330 mg kg-1 and b (maximum adsorption capacity) from 117 to 3916 mg kg-1, without finding an association with the evaluated soil units. A correlation of q and b was found between Al3+, Al3+ saturation, pH, Ca2+ and Mg2+, and base saturation. Key words: Langmuir isotherms; phosphorus adsorption; soil acidity; soil cartographic unit.