Spectrophotometric Method for the Direct Determination of Available Phosphorus in Fertilizers: Use of Dry Ashing to Destroy Citrate

A simple, rapid spectrophotometry method has been developed for direct determination of available phosphorus in fertilizers. Citrate and other organic materials are destroyed by dry ashing. The combined water and citrate extracts are diluted, a 5 ml aliquot is pipetted into a 25 ml Erlenmeyer flask, and 2 ml of ashing reagent (dilute HNO3, sucrose, and MgO) is added. During evaporation to dryness on a hot plate, nonorthophosphates are hydrolyzed to orthophosphates which react with Mg to form heat-stable compounds. During the subsequent ashing, phosphorus remains in the ortho form. Due to sucrose, the dry residue has a very porous structure and can be converted to a white ash in about 30 minutes in a pre-heated 550°C muffle. Color is developed with vanadomolybdic acid reagent. Absorbance is read on a spectrophotometer at 400 mμ.