Phosphorus (P) is essential for agriculture and hence for food production. Phosphorus fertilizers are produced from finite phosphate rock. Estimates of the depletion period of phosphate resources range from 30 to300 years. Therefore, we have to recycle the phosphorus and use the existing reserves in the soil. The percentage of organically bound phosphorus in the topsoils of agricultural land can range from 20% to 80% of the total P-content. It is known that plants can use this organic phosphate as a source of P by using phosphatases. In order to explore the possibility of selecting wheat (Triticum aestivum) suitable for low P-conditions,20 genotypes were compared for phosphatase activity in hydroponics under P-deficiency (1 µM P) and sufficient P-supply (10 µM P). Variety 6 showed the largest increase (137%) in Vmax-value and variety 1 the largest decrease(97%) in Km-value due to induction of P-deficiency, while variety 11 did not adjust the enzyme activity at all. To investigate the effect of the adaptation of phosphatase activity on the acquisition of organically bound phosphate, wheat plants were cultivated on a subsoil with very low organic-matter content and negligible microbial activity. Plants were compared for root and shoot growth as well as P-uptake. For the control treatment P was applied in inorganic form (100 mg P [kg soil]‑1as monocalcium phosphate Ca(H2PO4)2) and in organic form (100 mg P [kg soil]–1 as Na-hexaphytate, C6H6O24P6Na12)for the Porg-treatment. The relative P-uptake efficiency for Na-hexaphytate in comparison to Ca(H2PO4)2 ranged from 35,7% to 53,7%. There was little relationship between the net P-uptake and the enzyme activity. The relative root growth, however, showed a stronger impact (r2=0.68) on the net P-uptake. This indicates that differences in rootassociated phosphatase activity does not play a significant role in the acquisition of organically bound phosphate (Nahexaphytate).