Food Plots Deer Forest study on Phosphorus and deer preference

[lafn96]

Link

Did a study of same plants side-by-side, and came to the following conclusion - "It was phosphorus, not biomass, that had a positive influence on deer plant selection and phosphorus concentration explained almost half of the variation in plant selection. What does that mean? If you line up blocks of clover and winter wheat side by side, deer eat from the block that has the most phosphorus. Given that it is the SAME plant, it's the nutrient content driving the selection. Deer can distinguish phosphorus content in plants"

I knew that deer prefer fertilized plots, I'm wondering if they can really distinguish phosphorus content or it just tastes better to them? Also wondering if they had tried the same for nitrogen and potassium?

 

[Bucket]

Fascinating - thanks for sharing!

 

[BSK]

Deer have the innate ability to "taste" the highest quality plants. Somehow, they just taste better.

 

[J.A.F.O.]

I would assume it's like us and eating some piece of steak at Golden Corral then going to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse and having that same cut. Yeah sure…it's a steak but that piece you got at RC comes from a much better environment and diet,guaranteed.

 

[Ski]

Naturally my question is how does one increase phosphorus in their plots? Soil ph and fertilizer is the easy answer and probably the best, but is there any other way to add an extra boost? Or possibly even boost it in natural browse?

 

[BSK]

Naturally my question is how does one increase phosphorus in their plots? Soil ph and fertilizer is the easy answer and probably the best, but is there any other way to add an extra boost? Or possibly even boost it in natural browse?

Other than commercial fertilizers, the easiest way to increase phosphorus is by having a lot of organic matter in your soil, i.e. green manure.

 

[J.A.F.O.]

110% on the organic material…manure,fish emulsion,fish meal,bone meal,eggshells,yard compost(decomp leaf litter) and the like.

 

[Popcorn]

Other than commercial fertilizers, the easiest way to increase phosphorus is by having a lot of organic matter in your soil, i.e. green manure.

So to be more specific it is the phosphorus due to the biomass unless it is artificially added phosphorus.
I like the red worm test! If you got worm, everything likes it!