Available K Reserve of two major Crop Growing Regions (Alluvial and Shrink-Swell Soils) in India

Abstract

The crop removal of K often equals or exceeds that of N. Under intensive cropping with high yielding varieties and imparity in nutrient use, K from soils getting depleted as is evident from number of field experiments conducted across the country under the All India Coordinated Research Projects (AICRP) of the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR). The K is thus recognized as deficient element after N and P in Indian soils. The K fertilizers in India are mostly imported and since the gap between removal of K and its application to crop is widening, it is all the more important that the country makes the most use of them. To make such initiative successful, knowledge of K reserve in soils and periodic monitoring of changes in K status should form an essential part of such programme.