Effect of potassium fertilization on soil potassium pools and rice response in an intensive cropping system in China

Abstract

AbstractIn order to assess the changes in soil K pools as affected by K‐fertilizer application and the impact of the changes on K balance, grain yield, and K uptake, an experiment was conducted in Central Zhejiang Province, E China, in a continuous double‐cropping rice system. Two sites were selected: (1) the Agricultural Research Institute of Jinhua (ARI) where soil is calcareous and (2) the Shimen Research Farm (SM) where soil is acidic. Eight consecutive crops were grown (1997–2000) in ARI and five consecutive crops (1998–2000) at SM. Treatments included unfertilized control (CK) and three different fertilizer treatments (NP, NK, and NPK). Potassium extracted by ion‐exchange resin decreased from 26 mg kg–1 to 5–10 mg kg–1 after eight consecutive seasons of growth at the ARI site. Addition of 100 kg K ha–1 for each rice crop was not enough to maintain initial K availability, especially in the calcareous soil at ARI site. In treatments with K, a small increase in readily available K was observed only in SM soil. The K extracted by HNO3 also decreased significantly in the treatments without K addition and was increased slightly in the treatments with K application. In the NP treatment, the decrease in HNO3‐K was several times greater than resin‐K, indicating that nonexchangeable K may be the major source of K supply to rice. Soil K depletion was greater for hybrid rice than for inbred rice, and this difference in K demand should be taken into account in developing fertilizer recommendations for irrigated rice.