Brazilian agriculture has grown considerably in the last three decades, making the country one of the greatest agricultural powers in the world. All this growth demands a large amount of fertilizer. P is a rare and non-renewable resource, so it is important to use it with quality and sustainability. Brazil is a great importer of fertilizers, about 75% of what is consumed comes from outside the country. Adding knowledge is fundamental, so it becomes necessary for agribusiness professionals to know about the fertilizer chain. To know the available sources, the manufacturing process, the performance of these materials in the field, and to learn about new technologies that can be used to optimize the use of P.

Tropical soils have chemical characteristics that promote a fixation of the P element, making the phosphate fertilizers in these soils have low efficiency. The present work aimed to evaluate the efficiency of phosphate fertilization in the corn crop in different crop systems, different sources of P and mixture between these sources. It was adopted a completely randomized design with subdivided plots. The plots were formed by three treatments (system cultivation of corn): single corn, corn intercropped with Crotalaria juncea, and corn intercropped pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan). The subplots formed by five treatments, created by two P sources and three mixtures between them. The consortium with pigeon pea and crotalaria species reduced productivity regardless of the source or mix of sources used. In consortium cultivation, greater use is made of the applied fertilizer, which means that consortium cultivation can be a tool for improving levels of P use in Brazilian agriculture.