When plants find themselves in low phosphorus soil, they have evolved many adaptations that I have not had the chance to discuss yet. Some of these include increased root surface area, decreased rhizosphere pH and increased root exudation of carboxylates.I am always hearing in the media and in scientific journals how wonderful the soybean is and how it will one day save our croplands. I posted a video below so you can see what I am talking about.
I get it, it's important, but is it really that special?
Now let’s step back for a second and think about the soybean. It is a legume crop that is reliant on N2 fixation. This fixation involves an increase in cation absorption and a release of protons at the root to compensate for the positive charges when they are in phosphorus rich soil. The opposite interaction occurs when they are in nitrate rich soil. 