Effect of Potassium Sources and Soil Calcareous Levels on Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) Growth at the Early Stage
Effect of Potassium Sources and Soil Calcareous Levels on Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) Growth at the Early Stage
Abdul Aleem Memon1*, Inayatullah Rajpar2, Ghulam Murtaza Jamro2, Javaid Ahmed Shah3
ABSTRACT
The arid and semi-arid climate and geology of Pakistan have caused the formation of calcareous soils on many regions. High calcium amount in soil solution suppresses potassium (K) uptake by plants possibly due to K-fixation and variation in cation ratios. Soils in country are thought to be well supplied with K, little or no K fertilizer is applied to majority of the crops, including sunflower. However, recent studies have shown that the sunflower is becoming more responsive and exhibiting superior growth and yield with the addition of K. To determine the impact of K fertilizer sources on the growth and development of sunflower seedlings on artificially established calcareous soils, we carried out a pot study. The experiment included two K sources, sulphate of potash (SoP), and muriate of potash (MoP), and four different lime content levels (<5, 10, 20 and 30%). The results showed that increasing levels of lime decreased growth parameters viz. shoot height, root length, fresh shoot weight, dry shoot weight, fresh root weight, and dry root weight in sunflower seedlings. Similarly, shoot K content was also decreased by 30.44% at increased lime content level (30%) over control, and chlorophyll concentration in leaves declined with increasing% of lime in comparison with the control. Moreover, when compared to the control, SoP application resulted in greater growth parameters, followed by MoP. Further K treatment also increased in K content in shoots and leaf chlorophyll concentration. The shoot K content was increased by 31.14% with SoP and 13.92% with MoP, and chlorophyll concentration by 24.52% with SoP, and 12.06% with MoP compared with the control. The findings concluded that under calcareous soil conditions, K fertilization either in the form of SoP or MoP could more effectively promote sunflower seedling growth.
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