A study on quantity/intensity parameters of soil potassium following a year of cropping in an alluvial and a lateritic soil of West Bengal

Abstract

In the background of the imbalance in the use of N, P, K fertilizers, largely practised by the farmers in the alluvial and the lateritic soils of West Bengal, especially with regard to potassic fertilizers with the prevalent assumption that these soils are fairly rich in potash, an experiment was conducted between April, 2001 and May, 2002, in a lateritic soil (Midnapur) and an alluvial soil (Kalyani) of West Bengal, covering selected cropping sequences. Relationships between the quantity (Q) and intensity (I) parameters of labile K in the soils, initially and after one cropping year, were examined at both these sites by following the standard methodologies. The quantity parameters such as K L , Kx, ΔK 0 and PBC k showed characteristic variations over such periods of time in soils at both the locations. The intensity parameters, namely AR K e , also showed a similar trend. The soil with relatively higher clay content recorded higher K x and PBC K values. Thus it can be concluded that the present alluvial soil (Kalyani) could support better the high intensive cropping sequences in absence of extraneous K application on a long-term basis.