Abstract
To investigate the effect of potassium source and rate on soil K, growth and K uptake of spinach, a pots experiment was carried out during the winter season of 2020 at the greenhouse of the Faculty of Agriculture, Saba Basha, Alexandria, Egypt. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. The treatments included applying 50% of recommended K in the form of potassium sulfate (PS50), 100% as potassium sulfate (PS100), 50% as potassium citrate (PC50), 100% as potassium citrate (PC100), 50% as potassium humate (PH50), 100% as potassium humate (PH100) and control (0% K). The obtained results showed that the application of potassium in the forms of potassium humate and potassium citrate improved spinach growth and K uptake compared to potassium sulfate. The application of potassium humate can minimize the potassium application rate and reduce the fertilizer requirements without significant influences on plant growth and potassium uptake.
Highlights
Potassium (K) is an essential nutrient for plant growth
The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of application potassium sulfate, potassium citrate and potassium humate as different sources of potassium fertilizers at different rates on K uptake and growth performance of spinach, the status of available potassium under the studied treats
The results presented in Table (2) showed the effect of potassium forms on plant height, root length, number of leaves/plant, Chlorophyll content (SPAD unit) of spinach, available soil K and K uptake by spinach during the growing season of 2020
Summary
Potassium (K) is an essential nutrient for plant growth. Due to the large quantities of potassium being taken up by plants potassium is classified as a macronutrient. Spinach is a vegetable with a high biological value, rich in antioxidants especially when fresh, steamed, or quickly boiled (Cho et al, 2008) It is a good source of vitamin A, C, E, K, B2, B6, B9, folic acid, minerals (Mn, Mg, Fe, K, Ca, Se), and dietary fiber. The stimulatory effects of humic substances on plant growth have been proven in many studies (Kumar and Singh, 2017; Mohsen et al, 2017; Burhan and AL-Taey, 2018) In this way Kadam et al (2011) showed the positive effects of applied potassium humate as an increase in seed germination, the root and shoot length of wheat were recorded compared to the control. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of application potassium sulfate, potassium citrate and potassium humate as different sources of potassium fertilizers at different rates on K uptake and growth performance of spinach, the status of available potassium under the studied treats
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