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Measuring potassium fractions is not sufficient to assess the long-term impact of fertilization and manuring on soil’s potassium supplying capacity

  • Soils, Sec 1 • Soil Organic Matter Dynamics and Nutrient Cycling • Research Article
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Abstract

Purpose

Potassium (K)-fractions, thresholds of K release and fixation, quantity-intensity (Q/I) parameters of K, K-release kinetics, and K-fixation capacity were compared for their effectiveness in differentiating the effect of various nutrient management practices on K supplying capacity of an Aeric Endoaquept soil after 45 years of puddled rice cultivation.

Materials and methods

Soil samples (0–15 cm) were collected after the completion of 45 rice-rice cycles from an on-going long-term fertilizer experiment located in ICAR-National Rice Research Institute, Cuttack, India. The treatments involved control (unfertilized), N (nitrogen fertilizer), NP (N+ phosphorus fertilizer), NK (N+ potassium fertilizer), NPK (N + P + K fertilizer), FYM (farmyard manure), N + FYM, NP + FYM, NK + FYM, and NPK + FYM.

Results and discussion

Rice cultivation without K fertilizer application resulted in lower values of soil K parameters than the K-fertilized treatments. Treatment effects were most prominent on release threshold concentration (RTC), followed by cumulative K release, K-release rate constants, and K-fixation capacity. Parameters of K-release kinetics and Q/I relationships showed better correlation with rice grain yields than soil-K fractions. Soil K thresholds were closely related with exchangeable (Kex) and non-exchangeable K (Knx), but not clay minerals.

Conclusions

Among the soil K parameters, RTC, cumulative K release (Kf) with 0.01 M CaCl2, release rate constants (b R and b S ) of parabolic diffusion equation, and K-fixation capacity were most effective in revealing the nutrient management induced variations in soil K fertility. In the studied soil, K-thresholds were significantly related to Kex and Knx.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Director, ICAR-National Rice Research Institute (ICAR-NRRI) for providing all the facilities and the earlier researchers who have been associated with the long-term fertilizer experiment since 1969 at ICAR-NRRI. The first author is also thankful to ICAR–Indian Agricultural Research Institute for necessary help and support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. ICAR–Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, 110012, India

    Debarup Das & S. S. Biswas

  2. ICAR–National Rice Research Institute, Cuttack, Orissa, 753006, India

    Amaresh Kumar Nayak, Dibyendu Chatterjee, M. Shahid, Rahul Tripathi, S. Mohanty, Anjani Kumar, B. Lal, Priyanka Gautam & B. B. Panda

  3. Research Centre, ICAR–Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Udhagamandalam, 643004, India

    V. K. Thilagam

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  1. Debarup Das
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  2. Amaresh Kumar Nayak
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Correspondence to Amaresh Kumar Nayak.

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Das, D., Nayak, A.K., Thilagam, V.K. et al. Measuring potassium fractions is not sufficient to assess the long-term impact of fertilization and manuring on soil’s potassium supplying capacity. J Soils Sediments 18, 1806–1820 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-018-1922-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-018-1922-6

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