OMAHA (DTN) -- Improving phosphorus (P) uptake by plants is one of the biggest challenges growers face.

Phosphorus is an immobile nutrient that tends to get tied up in the soil for long periods of time; according to some estimates, only about 20 percent of the P is available the year it is applied and perhaps only 50 percent of the P will ever be recovered.

Anything growers can do to improve P recovery in that first season is a plus, and many concentrate the P in the soil by banding it in a zone near the seed. Other technologies ...