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Potassium cycling in the wheat/corn soil/plant system

IPNI-1997-CHN-XJ1

Overview Related Interpretive Summary
17 May 2001

1995 Annual Interpretive Summary


Potassium cycling in the wheat/corn soil/plant system, 1995

The optimal potash rate of 113 kg K2O/ha increased wheat yields by 16 percent. Research to date on the desert soils of Xinjiang province indicates that they vary in native soil K levels and that crops growing on soils high in K (183 mg/kg) respond positively to potash additions.

Plant available soil K was increased by 24 percent and 38 to 55 percent after being amended with 113 and 225 kg K2O/ha, respectively. The K input/output balances for the wheat/corn rotation showed that with the crop removing 261 kg K/ha, there were soil K deficits of 95 and 48 kg K/ha for the 113 and 225 kg K2O/ha potash treatments, respectively. XINJIANG-01