Abstract
Potassium (K) is the second most important plant nutritional element and is used for numerous physiological processes. We established an eight-year experiment comparing the effects of five K fertilization treatments (0, 48, 84, 120 and 156 kg K ha−1) on crop yield, K use efficiency and soil apparent K balance under the maize–wheat rotation system in the North China Plain. The highest maize and wheat yields were achieved in the K120 treatment, increasing by up to 16.7% and 25.1%, respectively. The increase in grain yield and K agronomic efficiency (AEK) with K application was greater in wheat than in maize. The K recovery efficiency (REK) and K accumulative recovery efficiency (ARE) significantly decreased with the increase in K fertilization in the maize and wheat seasons. However, the soil apparent K balance and soil available K content increased; the former was deficiency (−24.3 kg ha−1 yr−1) in the K0 treatment, but the latter did not decrease significantly compared with that in the initial year of the experiment. The soil available K content increased by 10.9 mg kg−1 per 100 kg ha−1. In conclusion, the yield response to K fertilization was greater in wheat than in maize and alleviated soil K depletion, but the K fertilizer efficiency was lower. We believed that K fertilizer can be increased moderately in the wheat season and decreased in the maize season.
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