Can organic P inputs alleviate P limitation effects on nutrient uptake and biological N2-fixing capacity of hairy vetch (Vicia villosa)?

Phosphorus (P) is a limiting nutrient in many agroecosystems and, apart from affecting plant growth, can also limit biological N2 fixation (BNF) by leguminous plants. Thus, increasing P supply can have a positive effect on BNF particularly in P-deficient soils. Here, we provide new insights into the response of hairy vetch (Vicia villosa), widely adopted as a legume cover crop, to P limitations, by comparing the effects of inorganic (Pi) and organic (Po) P supply on plant growth and BNF capacity. This was achieved by means of a greenhouse experiment in which rhizobia-inoculated hairy vetch was grown in a P-limited agricultural soil and changes in plant growth, nitrogen (N) and P uptake, BNF capacity, and soil phosphatases activities were evaluated as a function of Pi and Po inputs, in the form of orthophosphate or phytic acid, respectively. When compared to P-deficient conditions where BNF was primarily limited by plant growth rather than directly due to the high P costs of symbiotic N fixation, Pi addition substantially enhanced plant growth (threefold), nodule formation (16-fold), P acquisition (sixfold), and BNF efficiency (sevenfold). In contrast, even with the addition of the highest dose of Po, the increase in plant growth, nodule formation, P acquisition, and BNF capacity (1.7, 3.5, 2.4 and 2.1-fold, respectively) was much less expressed, indicating that hairy vetch could only minimally access Po sources over the growth period in order to alleviate the P limitation effect on N2 fixation in under P-deficient conditions. These findings suggest that hairy vetch will not be able to provide sufficient BNF for improving soil N inputs in low-fertility cropping systems that rely on organic inputs.