Phosphorus build up in soil affecting zinc availability to plants in rice based cropping system

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the most important food crops of India in terms of both area, production and consumer preference. India is the second largest producer and consumer of rice in the world. Long-term application of phosphorus fertilisers to agricultural fields and intensive cultivation can lead to P build up in soil which is a common practice generally followed by the farmers in rice based cropping system. Phosphorus is the most important element which interferes in zinc uptake by plants as it is assumed that zinc uptake by plants is reduced with increasing levels of phosphorus in soil. High levels of phosphorus may decrease the availability of zinc or the onset of zinc deficiency associated with phosphorus fertilisation may be due to plant physiological factors. In this short paper we briefly review this research, summarize some recent work and highlight some new data for the study of the effect of P build up in soil on the availability of Zn in plants in rice based cropping system.