Technical Abstract: Declining nutrient use efficiency in crop production has been a global priority to preserve high agricultural productivity with finite non-renewable nutrient resources, in particular phosphorus (P). Rapid spectroscopic methods increase measurement density of soil nutrients, and the availability of more precise data can improve the calculation of appropriate application rates of fertilizer P inputs. A multi-element analytical x-ray fluorescence spectroscopic (XRFS) method was evaluated for P detection in soil samples collected from contiguous field strips under wheat cultivation near the Quzhou Agricultural Experiment Station in the North China Plain. Soil available P was highly variable in both directions of a two-dimensional grid after decades of continuous cultivation. A linear relationship existed between XRFS-P and bicarbonate-extractable P or Mehlich 3-P to generally depict the spatial distribution of soil available P across a 22-ha field (p < 0.001). Distinct nutrient management zones were identified for more precise added P placement. The high sample throughput and minimal sample processing makes XRFS an indispensable component of a novel approach to sustainably manage P, and by and large mineral macronutrients in production agriculture based on their site-specific variations in the soil. These approaches and their limitations may provide a promising avenue to improve use efficiencies of P and other inorganic macronutrients to attenuate the within-field variations in P distribution and avoid zones of deficiency or surplus P that can affect plant productivity across the field.