GTD,

Good descriptions (I beg to differ on a few minor points, but I'll let them go -- overall, you've captured the essence of it).

The main point I'd like to reinforce is the abundance of roots w/in an inch of the soil surface in no-till, some of which are immediately underneath the duff layer.  These extend out into the row middles by an early stage of development.  So b'cast P is actually relatively effective (generally not quite as good as soil placement the first year, but closer than most people realize).

This isn't to say that pop-up fertilizers (or other near-row placements) of part of the nutrient package aren't of value -- they are (I'm still a proponent of pop-ups for NT).  What I truly doubt (in a scientific sense) is whether 'deep' placement of P or K while strip-tilling is of any value or improvement over what was done previously (placed w/ separate openers on the planter, b'cast, or some combination).  Producers and some agronomists intuitively think it will be better.  I don't think the evidence bears that out.