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Potassium release characteristics, potassium balance, and fingermillet (Eleusine coracana G.) yield sustainability in a 27- year long experiment on an Alfisol in the semi-arid tropical India

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Relation http://oar.icrisat.org/7083/
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11104-013-1877-8
10.1007/s11104-013-1877-8
 
Title Potassium release characteristics, potassium balance, and fingermillet (Eleusine coracana G.) yield sustainability in a 27- year long experiment on an Alfisol in the semi-arid tropical India
 
Creator Srinivasa Rao, Ch
Kundu, S
Ramachandrappa, B K
Reddy, S
Lal, R
Venkateswarlu, B
Sahrawat, K L
Naik, R
 
Subject Millets
Fertilizer Appications
 
Description Aim
In Alfisols, potassium (K) deficiency limits productivity, as these soils are poor in K-bearing minerals such as mica. As nutrient management practices greatly influence K nutrition of crops especially in the longer term, we evaluated the effects of 27 (1978–2004) years of cropping fingermillet (Eleusine coracana G.) under different manure and mineral fertilizer treatments on K release, balance and yield sustainability on K deficient Alfisols in the semi-arid tropical region of southern India.

Methods

Fingermillet (variety: PR-202) was grown each year under rainfed conditions with 5 different nutrient management treatments: control (no amendment), 10 Mg ha−1 farm yard manure (FYM), 10 Mg ha−1 FYM +50 % NPK, 10 Mg ha−1 FYM +100 % NPK and 100 % NPK. Potassium release characteristics in the soil profile were determined using 1 N boiling HNO3 (strong extracting solution), 0.01 M HCl (medium extracting solution) and 0.01 M CaCl2 (mild extracting solution).

Results

Continuous cropping of Alfisols for 27 years resulted in a decrease in K supplying capacity due to soil K depletion through crop K uptake. In soils without K addition, inherent soil supply could not meet the K requirement of fingermillet; thus, a negative K balance following 27 years of cropping affected K nutrition of the crop in all the treatments. As a result, the highest sustainable yield index (SYI) was observed using an integrated nutrient supply (combined application of nutrients from organic and inorganic sources), and the lowest index was obtained without K additions.

Conclusion

For balanced nutrient management in cereal production systems, K nutrition needs urgent attention in the K deficient Alfisol region of southern India. Addition of any amount of organic manures available at field level offers an alternative strategy for maintaining soil K fertility to improve and sustain crop productivity.
 
Publisher Springer Netherlands
 
Date 2014
 
Type Article
PeerReviewed
 
Format application/pdf
 
Language en
 
Rights —
 
Identifier http://oar.icrisat.org/7083/1/PlantSoil_Potassium-2013.pdf
Srinivasa Rao, Ch and Kundu, S and Ramachandrappa, B K and Reddy, S and Lal, R and Venkateswarlu, B and Sahrawat, K L and Naik, R (2014) Potassium release characteristics, potassium balance, and fingermillet (Eleusine coracana G.) yield sustainability in a 27- year long experiment on an Alfisol in the semi-arid tropical India. Plant and Soil, 374 (1-2). pp. 315-330. ISSN 1573-5036