Open AccessPotassium nutrient response in the rice-wheat cropping system in different agro-ecozones of Nepal
Author(s) -
Roshan Babu Ojha,
Shova Shrestha,
Y. G. Khadka,
Dinesh Panday
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0248837
Subject(s) - fertilizer , crop , randomized block design , agronomy , nutrient , cropping system , cropping , potassium , crop yield , mathematics , biology , agriculture , chemistry , ecology , organic chemistry
Most of the soils of Nepal had a higher potassium (K, expressed as K 2 O) level inherently. Later in 1976, the Government of Nepal has recommended K fertilizer rate at 30 kg K 2 O ha -1 in rice-wheat cropping systems. However, those crops began showing K deficiency symptoms in recent decades, which could be due to a large portion of soils with depleted K level or the insufficient input of K fertilizer for crop production. This study explored a limitation of K nutrient in the crops by establishing field trials from 2009–2014 at three agro-ecozones i.e., inner-Terai (2009–2010), high-Hills (2011–2012), and Terai (2012–2014) in Nepal. Seven rates of K fertilizer at 0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, and 90 kg K 2 O ha -1 were replicated four times in a randomized complete block design, where crop yields and yield-attributing parameters of rice-wheat cropping system were recorded. Results revealed that an increase in K rates from 45 to 75 kg K 2 O ha -1 under inner-Terai and Terai conditions and 45 to 60 kg ha -1 under high-Hills conditions produced significantly higher grain yields compared to the recommended K dose. Economically, the optimum rate of K fertilizer should not exceed 68 kg K 2 O ha -1 for rice in all agro-ecozones, or 73 kg K 2 O ha -1 for wheat in inner-Terai and 60 kg K 2 O ha -1 for wheat in high-Hills and Terai. Our findings suggest to increase potassium application in between 1.5 to 2.5 times of the current K fertilizer rate in rice-wheat cropping system of Nepal that need to be tested further in different locations and crop varieties.