STUDIES ON THE POTASSIUM-SUPPLYING CAPACITIES OF SOUTHERN ONTARIO SOILS. III. MEASUREMENT OF AVAILABLE K

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine which of eight different extractants best described the K-supplying capacities of nine southern Ontario soils. The total amount of K extracted by eight crops of alfalfa grown in the greenhouse was related to soil K by regression techniques. The following procedures extracted increasingly higher average amounts of soil K: water; electro-ultrafiltration (EUF) at 20 °C (EUF-K-20) (37 μg K g−1); EUF at 80 °C (EUF-K-80) (83 μg K g−1); 2M NaCl (89 μg K g−1); 1M NH4OAc (131 μg K g−1); 0.1 M HNO3 (163 μg K g−1); seven sequential 7-min extractions with boiling 1 M HNO3 (Mactotal) (940 μg K g−1); and 0.2 M sodium tetra-phenyl boron (NaTPhB) (3248 μg K g−1). Of the eight extractants tested, the amount of K removed by EUF was the most closely associated to total K uptake; a multiple regression model with the logarithm of EUF-K-20 and the logarithm of EUF-K-80 as independent variables explained 97% of the total variation in K uptake. The K extracted by 2 M NaCl and by 0.1 M HNO3 also explained more variation in total K uptake (r2 = 0.86, and 0.92, respectively) than did 1 M NH4OAc (r2 = 0.61), which is currently used in the Ontario soil test program. The other extractants did not offer an improvement over NH4OAc, with the exception of the most soluble fraction of Mactotal (StepK). Extraction of soil K with electro-ultrafiltration may offer a more precise estimation of the K supplying capacities of southern Ontario soils than the currently used extractant. Key words: Electro-ultrafiltration, nonexchangeable K, ammonium acetate, soil test