Mineral phosphorus (P) fertilizers support high crop yields and contribute to feeding the teeming global population. However, complex edaphic processes cause P to be immobilized in soil, hampering its timely and sufficient availability for uptake by plants. The resultant low use efficiency of current water-soluble P fertilizers creates significant environmental and human health problems. Current practices to increase P use efficiency have been inadequate to curtail these problems. We advocate for the understanding of plant physiological processes, such as physiological P requirement, storage of excess P as phytate, and plant uptake mechanisms, to identify novel ways of designing and delivering P fertilizers to plants for improved uptake. We note the importance and implications of the contrasting role of micronutrients such as zinc and iron in stimulating P availability under low soil P content, while inhibiting P uptake under high P fertilization; this could provide an avenue for managing P for plant use under different P fertilization regimes. We argue that the improvement of the nutritional value of crops, especially cereals, through reduced phytic acid and increased zinc and iron contents should be among the most important drivers toward the development of innovative fertilizer products and fertilization technologies. In this paper, we present various pathways in support of this argument. Retuning P fertilizer products and application strategies will contribute to fighting hunger and micronutrient deficiencies in humans. Moreover, direct soil P losses will be reduced as a result of improved P absorption by plants.

中文翻译：

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探索改善人类和环境健康的磷肥和施肥策略

矿物磷 (P) 肥料支持高作物产量，并有助于养活人口众多的全球人口。然而，复杂的土壤过程导致 P 固定在土壤中，阻碍其及时和充分地被植物吸收。当前水溶性磷肥的低使用效率造成了严重的环境和人类健康问题。目前提高磷利用效率的做法不足以减少这些问题。我们提倡了解植物生理过程，如生理磷需求、过量磷作为植酸盐的储存和植物吸收机制，以确定设计和向植物输送磷肥以提高吸收的新方法。我们注意到微量营养素（例如锌和铁）在低土壤磷含量下刺激磷有效性的对比作用的重要性和影响，同时在高磷施肥下抑制磷吸收；这可以为在不同磷肥施用制度下管理植物使用的磷提供途径。我们认为，通过减少植酸和增加锌和铁含量来提高作物，尤其是谷物的营养价值，应该是开发创新肥料产品和施肥技术的最重要驱动因素之一。在本文中，我们提出了支持这一论点的各种途径。重新调整磷肥产品和施用策略将有助于对抗人类的饥饿和微量营养素缺乏症。而且，