Potassium Deficiency and remedies

Presented By: Dhaval Bhanderi
Topics: Potassium Deficiency and remedies, Soil Fertility Evaluation, Cotton Introduction, Adoption of Fertilizer dose in Cotton crop

1. Presented To:- Dr.J.N.Nariya Professor, Department of Agricultural Chemistry & Soil Science, COA,JAU,Mota Bhandariya Presentation of Ag.Chem.7.4 Presented By :- Dhaval Bhanderi Roll No. : 06

2. TOPICS Potassium Deficiency and Remedies Soil Fertility Evaluation Cotton Introduction Adoption of Fertilizer Dose in Cotton Crop 1

3. Potassium Deficiency 2

4. Potassium Deficiency in Plants Potassium Deficiency , also known as  Potash Deficiency , is a plant disorder that is most common on light, sandy soils, because potassium ions (K + ) are highly soluble and will easily leach from soils without colloids. Potassium deficiency is also common in chalky or peaty soils with a low clay content. It is also found on heavy clays with a poor structure. 3

5. Role Of Potassium In Plants The main role of potassium is to provide the ionic environment for metabolic processes in the cytosol, and as such functions as a regulator of various processes including growth regulation.  Plants require potassium ions (K + ) for protein synthesis and for the opening and closing of stomata. Potassium also functions in other physiological processes such as  Protein Synthesis, Activation of some enzymes, Phloem solute transport of Photoassimilates into source organs, and Maintenance of cation:anion balance in the cytosol and vacuole. 4

6. Symptoms Of Potassium Deficiency Typical symptoms of potassium deficiency in plants include brown scorching and curling of leaf tips as well as chlorosis (yellowing) between leaf veins. Purple spots may also appear on the leaf undersides. Plant growth, root development, and seed and fruit development are usually reduced in potassium-deficient plants. Often, potassium deficiency symptoms first appear on older (lower) leaves because potassium is a mobile nutrient, meaning that a plant can allocate potassium to younger leaves when it is K deficient.  5

7. Specific symptoms for each of these plants are as follows: In potatoes, tuber size is much reduced and crop yield is low. The leaves of the plant appear dull and are often blue-green in color with intervenal chlorosis. Leaves will also develop small, dark brown spots on the undersides and a bronzed appearance on the upper surfaces. In brassicas, leaves are blue-green in color and may have a low degree of intervenal chlorosis. Scorching along the outside edges of leaves is common, and leaves are often tough in texture due to slow growth. 6

8. In tomatoes, the stems are woody and growth is slow. Leaves are blue-green in color, and the intervenal area often fades to a pale gray color. Leaves may also have a bronzed appearance and yellow and orange patches may develop on some of the leaflets. Fruits often ripen unevenly and sometimes have green patches near the stalks. In apples, leaves are scorched around the edges, and intervenal chlorosis is common. Apple fruits often have a slightly acidic or woody taste. 7

9. Potassium D eficiency on Tomato leaf 8

10. Patassium Deficiency on Potato leaves Potassium Deficiency on Banana leaf 9

11. Potassium-deficient Maize plant. 10

12. Deficiencies may occur Because of low reserves of potassium in the soil or limited availability to the plant. Soils with low pH and sandy or light soils with little organic content are prone to nutrient leaching and drought, and may, therefore, cause problems. Heavy irrigation and high rainfall wash the nutrients from the root zone and can also lead to deficiency. High levels of phosphorus, magnesium, and iron can also compete with potassium. 11

13. Potassium Deficiency & Plant Disease For many species, potassium-deficient plants are more susceptible to frost damage and certain diseases than plants with adequate potassium levels. Increased disease resistance associated with adequate potassium levels indicates that potassium has roles in providing disease resistance, and increasing the potassium levels of deficient plants have been shown to decrease the intensity of many diseases. However, increasing potassium concentration above the optimal level does not provide greater disease resistance. 12

14. In agriculture, some cultivars are more efficient at K uptake due to genetic variations, and often these plants have increased disease resistance.  The mechanisms involved with increased host resistance and potassium include a decreased cell permeability and decreased susceptibility to tissue penetration.  Silica, which is accumulated in greater quantities when adequate potassium is present, is incorporated into cell walls, strengthening the epidermal layer which functions as a physical barrier to pathogens. Potassium has also been implicated to have a role in the proper thickening of cell walls. 13

15. Preventive Measures Highly acid or alkaline soils often lead to major and minor element deficiencies. Check the pH of the soil and lime if necessary to get the optimal range. Cultivate varieties that are more eficient in the uptake of potassium. Ensure a balanced use of fertilizers to secure a proper nutrients supply to the plant. Add organic matter to the soil in the form of manure or plant mulch. Water plants regularly and avoid flooding of fields. 14

16. Biological Control Add organic matter in the form of ashes or plant mulch to the soil at least once a year. Wood ash also has high potassium content. Liming acidic soils can increase potassium retention in some soils by reducing leaching. 15

17. Chemical Control A variety of potassium fertilizers is available in the market. The formulation of the potassium applied can play an important role in quality and yields. The most widely used product is Potassium Chloride (Muriate of Potash). Other mineral fertilizers include potassium nitrate, potassium sulfate, and mono-potassium phosphate. 16

18. Soil Fertility Evaluation 17

19. Objectives Assess nutrient status of soil-crop system Diagnose suspected nutrient imbalances Monitor effects of management on crop nutrient status, soil fertility. Provide basis for making fertilizer recommendations for - Improving yield and quality Improving fertilizer use efficiency Decreasing impacts on water and air quality, climate change Assess availability of toxic elements Improve soil quality 18

20. Nutrient management practices formulated to achieve economically optimum plant performance as well as minimal leakage of plant nutrients from the soil-plant system can only be optimized after soil fertility evaluation. Thus, soil fertility evaluation is a central feature of modern soil fertility management. The fundamental purpose of soil fertility evaluation is to quantify the ability of soils to supply nutrients for plant growth. Soil Fertility Evaluation 19

21. Soil fertility evaluation can be carried out using a range of field and laboratory diagnostic techniques and a series of increasingly sophisticated empirical and/or theoretical models that quantitatively relate indicators of soil fertility to plant response. The diagnostic techniques include chemical and biological soil tests, visual observations of plant growth for nutrient deficiency or toxicity symptoms and chemical analysis of plant tissues. New approaches include passive or active optical sensing technologies and geographical information systems that facilitate landscape scale site-specific assessment of soil fertility and can better describe and address the temporal and spatial variability of soil fertility. In view of the need to balance productivity and environmental protection for a wider and more diverse range of land uses, soil fertility evaluation is more complex today as illustrated conceptually in Figure. 20

22. Conceptual summary of the process of soil fertility evaluation (Modified from Thomas Sims and McGrath 2011) :- 21

23. Tools of Soil Fertility Evaluation Visual analysis for deficiency symptoms Plant testing Soil testing Plant response experiments 22

24. Soil Testing The four basic components of soil testing are soil sample collection and handling, soil analysis, interpretation of results, and recommendations for actions. For successful soil fertility evaluation each component must be conducted properly. A soil sample is the basic entity which is used for evaluation of soil fertility and for giving advice to the farmer for a profitable manipulation of soil fertility. Thus, it is important that soil sample should be truly representative of the field. 23

25. If a field is too heterogeneous, as it may appear from the undulating nature or knowledge about the previous crop cover, several samples from the parts of soil which are apparently more homogenous, should be collected. It has been observed that the error in sampling a field is larger than the error in laboratory analysis. In fact, a soil test is no better than the sample on which it is performed . Ideally, samples should be taken prior to seeding and before applying any amendments. In order to make an intelligent use of periodical soil tests, careful recording of inputs and outputs is essential. 24

26. The fundamental tenet of soil testing is that only a proportion of the total quantity of a nutrient element becomes available for assimilation by plants. Thus, a soil test extracts via complexation, dissolution, desorption, exchange or hydrolyzation a percentage of total soil nutrient pool that is proportional to the quantity that will become available to the plant. A large number of different empirical soil tests are currently in use to measure available nutrients, even for a single element. 25

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28. Time of Sampling Prior to Fertilization or Seeding for Predicting Fertilizer Requirements. In-season to monitor movement or mineralization / immobilization. 27

29. Sample Handling Avoid contamination, e.g. don’t use a metal bucket when sampling for micronutrients; some wax lined bags have N residues. Keep samples cool for elements that undergo microbial transformations, such as N & S. 28

30. Soil Sampling References 29

31. COTTON 30

32. Introduction Cotton is one of the most important fiber and cash crop of India and plays a dominant role in the industrial and agricultural economy of the country. It provides the basic raw material (cotton fibre) to cotton textile industry. Cotton in India provides direct livelihood to 6 million farmers and about 40 - 50 million people are employed in cotton trade and its processing. 31

33. Cultivated Species There are four Cultivated species of cotton: Gossypium arboreum Diploid (2n=26) Old World Cotton / Asiatic Cottons Gossypium herbaceum Diploid (2n=26) Old World Cotton / Asiatic Cottons Gossypium hirsutum Tetraploid (2n=52) New World Cotton / American Cotton Gossypium barbadense Tetraploid (2n=52) New World Cotton / Egyptian Cotton 32

34. G.hirsutum is the predominant species which alone contributes about 90% to the global production. Perhaps, India is the only country in the world where all the four cultivated species are grown on commercial scale. 33

35. Climate & Soil Requirement Cotton is grown in tropical & sub tropical conditions. A minimum temperature of 15 o C is required for better germination at field conditions. The optimum temperature for vegetative growth is 21-27 o C & it can tolerate temperature to the extent of 43 o C but temperature below 21 o C is detrimental to the crop. Cotton is grown on a variety of soils ranging from well drained deep alluvial soils in the north to black clayey soils of varying depth in central region and in black and mixed black and red soils in south zone. 34

36. Preparation of land The land is worked upon with tractor-drawn implements, then levelled & planked before preparing ridges upon which sowing is done. Deep ploughing recommended to destroy perennial weeds once in 4 years. The field is prepared by repeated harrowing with a blade harrow prior to the onset of pre-monsoon rains. 35

37. Method of Sowing Cotton is sown using tractor or bullock drawn seed drill or by dibbling. Hand dibbling of seed is now main system of sowing of Bt. Hybrids 36

38. Irrigation Scheduling Depending upon the climate & crop-growing period, cotton needs 700-1200 mm water to meet its maximum water requirement. The water requirement is low during first 60-70 days after sowing & highest during flowering & boll development. Cotton is commonly flood irrigated although irrigation by furrow or alternate furrow method is more effective and water saving. On Black soils, 5-7 irrigations & On Sandy loam soils, 8-10 irrigations are commonly given. 37

39. Inter cultivation & Weed control Inter-cultivation is done fairly regularly by either a blade harrow with a three tined hoe or a desi plough. Cotton yields are reduced by 50 to 85% if weed growth is unchecked. Deep rooted perennial weeds are removed by summer ploughing. Thinning is desirable for maintaining the optimum population of plants to obtain a high yield. Pendimethalin @ 1 kg ai/ha . as pre-emergence with one hand weeding and crosswise hoeing has been recommended for satisfactory weed control. 38

40. Adoption of fertilizer dose in cotton crop 39

41. Steps of Survey Collection of Fertilizer data that applied by Farmers Take Average of Fertilizer data Compare data with Recommended dose Graphical Representation of NPK Calculation of Z-test & it’s Result Conclusion Give Suggestion to Farmers for increasing income by Adopting proper fertilizer dose. 40

42. Material & Method The data of the Fertilizer dose were taken from Hadala village of Amreli district. Farmers gave the informations of fertilizers used by them in cotton crop. I found that the application of fertilizer dose is differ from farmer to farmer. Most of Farmers gives the application of Urea & DAP. The application of Potassium is rarely given by Farmers. The Farmers does not aware about Soil Health Card. Whole Experiment is based on the collection of data of fertilizer from 50 farmers. After collecting Fertilizer data, we calculate the NPK and made a datasheet. Then the data is compared with the University Recommendation. 41

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46. CONCLUSION After Calculating Z-test, we found that the dose of applied NPK is lower as compared to the Recommendation. So, it is advisable to the Farmers to apply the Fertilizer dose according to the Recommendation of the University. 45

47. Thank You