Fertilizer-grade phosphate is of great significance in agricultural production and can be regarded as a key factor in achieving high farmland yields. In the soil, phosphorus is an important nutrient necessary for crop growth, and has a profound impact on many physiological processes of crops such as photosynthesis, energy conversion, and cell division.

When the effective phosphorus content in the soil is insufficient, the application of phosphate fertilizer can supplement this key nutrient. Many studies have shown that when the soil phosphorus test level is in the extremely low, low or medium range (such as Bray-1 test below 15 ppm, Olsen test below 11 ppm), crops respond significantly to the application of phosphorus fertilizer. Reasonable application of phosphorus fertilizer can make the crop root system more developed, enhance its ability to absorb nutrients and water, promote crop growth and development, improve crop resistance, and thus significantly increase crop yields.

For example, in corn, if the soil is deficient in phosphorus, phosphate fertilizer can be applied in a variety of ways. The required phosphorus fertilizer can be broadcast and plowed into the soil before planting; it can also be applied in strips to the side of the seed row as seed fertilizer at planting time; if less phosphorus is needed, a small amount of phosphorus fertilizer can be applied directly to the seeds. Among them, strip application is quite efficient and can reduce the recommended amount of broadcast application by half. For soybeans, studies have shown that broadcasting and plowing the required phosphorus fertilizer into the soil before planting can increase grain yield more than strip application. When planting sugar beets, applying 15 pounds of phosphorus fertilizer to the seed row can produce the same yield as broadcasting 45 to 60 pounds of phosphorus fertilizer.

Organic phosphorus sources such as manure or sludge contain phosphorus comparable to inorganic phosphorus fertilizers. If the recommended phosphorus requirement for farmland is 30 pounds of P₂O₅ per acre, applying about 65 pounds of 18-46-0 (diammonium phosphate) or 6 tons of 11-6-9 (manure, effective phosphorus coefficient 80%) can achieve similar results. Organic phosphorus is easy to decompose in the soil, but its mineralization rate is affected by factors such as temperature, soil moisture and soil pH, and the final decomposition product is orthophosphate compounds.