Comparison of soil analytical methods for estimating plant-available potassium in highly weathered soils
Miaomiao Cheng
A B * , Richard Bell A B , Jordan Brown C , Qifu Ma A B and Craig Scanlan A B D
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Centre for Sustainable Farming System, Food Futures Institute, Murdoch University, Perth, WA, Australia.
B SoilsWest, Murdoch University, Perth, WA, Australia.
C Curtin Biometry and Agriculture Data Analytics, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia.
D Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Northam, WA, Australia.
Soil Research 61(7) 717-733 https://doi.org/10.1071/SR22270
Submitted: 4 January 2023 Accepted: 7 June 2023 Published: 10 July 2023
© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)
Abstract
Context: The NaHCO3-extractable soil K test (Colwell K) is the most frequently used method for soil K across Australia, but there is still uncertainty about the suitability of K testing guidelines for heavy-textured soils.
Aims: To determine whether Colwell K is suitable for predicting plant-available K on loam- and clay-textured soil types developed from highly weathered soil parent materials in Western Australia (WA).
Methods: Nine soil K testing methods were used to determine plant-available K on 21 soil types with a wide range of properties collected from three depths on the northern, central and southern farmlands in WA.
Key results: Quartz and K-feldspars were the dominant minerals in all soils, while limited white mica (1–2%) was identified in less than 10% of samples. The amount of K extracted by silver thiourea was only about 70% of the amounts extracted by NaHCO3 (Colwell K) and NH4OAc. Soil non-exchangeable K extracted by nitric acid and sodium tetraphenyl borate were from similar K pools, while aqua regia K was 1–6 times higher than these values.
Conclusion: There was no systemic difference or proportional bias between NH4OAc K and Colwell K, and both had good model performance (R2 > 0.86) for total K uptake by wheat in a single growing season in a wide range of soils.
Implication: In this diverse range of soils formed from weathered parent materials, the reliance on exchangeable K for plant K uptake suggests that plant-available K will be vulnerable to rundown due to negative K balances.
Keywords: Colwell K, NH4OAc K, nutrient uptake, potassium, soil analysis, soil fertility, soil–plant interaction.
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