Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer
Plant Science Today (PST)

Research Articles

Early Access

Optimizing fertigation to enhance potassium use efficiency in cotton

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.8111
Submitted
6 March 2025
Published
21-08-2025
Versions

Abstract

Potassium (K) plays a vital role in cotton growth by enhancing fiber quality, boll formation and the resistance to environmental stresses. Conventional fertilization methods often lead to inefficient K uptake, limiting crop productivity and contributing to nutrient loss. This study investigates the effect of optimized fertigation on improving potassium use efficiency (KUE) in cotton. A field experiment was conducted using a randomized block design (RBD) with eight different fertigation treatments with varying nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and K levels. The findings revealed that drip fertigation with 125 % K (T8) significantly enhanced soil K availability, plant uptake and overall yield compared to traditional fertilization K absorption peaked during boll development, highlighting the importance of applying nutrients at the right growth stages. Additionally, the highest potassium retention was observed in the topsoil (0-15 cm), reducing nutrient losses through leaching. This study underscores the benefits of precise fertigation scheduling in enhancing nutrient efficiency, improving cotton yield and maintaining soil health. By adopting targeted nutrient management practices, cotton farmers can achieve higher productivity while promoting sustainable soil fertility.

References

  1. 1.Marschner H. Mineral nutrition of higher plants. 2nd edition. San Diego: Academic Press; 1995.
  2. 2. Bar-Yosef B. Advances in fertigation. Adv Agron. 1999;65:1-77. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2113(08)60910-4
  3. 3. Fageria NK, Baligar VC, Jones CA. Growth and mineral nutrition of field crops. 3rd edition. Boca Raton: CRC Press; 2010.
  4. 4. Sparks DL. Potassium dynamics in soils. In: Stewart BA, editor. Advances in soil science. New York: Springer; 1987. p. 1-63.
  5. 5. Ashrafi MR, Raj M, Shamim S, Lal K, Kumar G. Effect of fertigation on crop productivity and nutrient use efficiency. J Pharmacogn Phytochem. 2020;9(5):2937-42.
  6. 6. Brady NC, Weil RR. The nature and properties of soils. 14th edition. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall; 2008.
  7. 7. Ayres RS, Westcot DW. Water quality for agriculture. FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper 29 Rev 1. Rome: FAO; 1994.
  8. 8. Singh VK, Dwivedi BS, Rathore SS, Mishra RP, Satyanarayana T, Majumdar K. Timing potassium applications to synchronize with plant demand. In: Improving potassium recommendations for agricultural crops; 2021. p. 363-84. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59197-7
  9. 9. Marschner H. Marschner’s mineral nutrition of higher plants. 3rd edition. London: Academic Press; 2011.
  10. 10. Wang H, Wu L, Wang X, Zhang S, Cheng M, Feng H, et al. Optimization of water and fertilizer management improves yield, water, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium uptake and use efficiency of cotton under drip fertigation. Agric Water Manag. 2021;245:106662. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2020.106662
  11. 11. Basak BB, Biswas DR. Influence of potassium solubilizing microorganism (Bacillus mucilaginosus) and waste mica on potassium uptake dynamics by sudan grass (Sorghum vulgare Pers.) grown under two Alfisols. Plant Soil. 2009;317:235-55. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-008-9805-z
  12. 12. Srivastav AL, Patel N, Rani L, Kumar P, Dutt I, Maddodi BS, et al. Sustainable options for fertilizer management in agriculture to prevent water contamination: a review. Environ Dev Sustain. 2024;26(4):8303-27. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-023-03117-z
  13. 13. Pettigrew WT. Potassium influences on yield and quality production for maize, wheat, soybean and cotton. Physiol Plant. 2008;133(4):670-81. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1399-3054.2008.01073.x
  14. 14. Jackson ML. Soil chemical analysis. New Delhi: Prentice Hall of India Pvt. Ltd.; 1973.
  15. 15. Walkley A, Black IA. An examination of the Degtjareff method for determining soil organic matter, and a proposed modification of the chromic acid titration method. Soil Sci. 1934;37(1):29-38. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00010694-193401000-00003
  16. 16. Subbiah BV, Asija GL. A rapid procedure for the estimation of available nitrogen in soils. Curr Sci. 1956;25:259-60.
  17. 17. Olsen SR. Estimation of available phosphorus in soils by extraction with sodium bicarbonate. Washington: USDA; 1954.
  18. 18.Piper CS. Soil and plant analysis. Soil Sci. 1945;59(3):263. https://doi.org/10.1097/00010694-194503000-00009
  19. 19. Blake GR, Hartge KH. Bulk density. In: Klute A, editor. Methods of soil analysis: Part 1. Madison: ASA; 1986. p. 363-75.
  20. 20. Gunasekaran M, Premalatha N, Kumar M, Mahalingam L, Sakthivel N, Senguttuvan K, et al. Cotton CO17 - A short duration, high yielding compact variety suitable for high density planting system. Electron J Plant Breed. 2020;11(4):993-1000. https://doi.org/10.37992/2020.1104.162
  21. 21. Veeraputhiran R, Kandasamy OS, Sundarsingh SD. Effect of drip irrigation and fertigation on growth and yield of hybrid cotton. J Agric Res Manag. 2002;1:88-97.
  22. 22. Rengel Z, Damon PM. Crops and genotypes differ in efficiency of potassium uptake and use. Physiol Plant. 2008;133(4):624-36. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1399-3054.2008.01079.x
  23. 23. Oosterhuis DM. Potassium management of cotton. In: Potassium for sustainable crop production; 2002. p. 331-46.
  24. 24. Wang M, Zheng Q, Shen Q, Guo S. The critical role of potassium in plant stress response. Int J Mol Sci. 2013;14(4):7370-90. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms14047370
  25. 25. Shivashankar K. Fertigation in crop production a must for higher yields and returns. ICAR Summer Short Course on Advances in Micro Irrigation and Fertigation; 1999 June 21. p. 21-30.
  26. 26. Baskar P, Jagannathan R. Resource use efficiency, productivity and profitability of Bt cotton (interspecific) as influenced by crop geometry and drip fertigation. Indian J Agric Res. 2021;55(3): 323-8. https://doi.org/10.18805/IJARe.A-5485
  27. 27. Bharambe PR, Narwade SK, Oza SR, Vaishnava VG, Shelke DK, Jadhav GS. Nitrogen management in cotton through drip irrigation. J Indian Soc Soil Sci. 1997;45(6):705-9.
  28. 28. Kadam JR, Karthikeyan S. Effect of different combinations of soluble NPK fertilizers through drip irrigation on the yield contributing characters, yield, and quality of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.). Int J Plant Sci 2006;1(1):64-8.
  29. 29. Rajput TB, Patel N. Water and nitrate movement in drip-irrigated onion under fertigation and irrigation treatments. Agric Water Manag. 2006;79(3):293-311. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2005.03.009
  30. 30. Harish J, Pawar DD, Kal KD, Hasure RR, Dingre SK. Nutrient availability in Bt cotton under drip fertigation. Int J Curr Microbiol App Sci. 2018;7(4):3373-9. https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2018.704.381
  31. 31. Hebbar SS, Ramachandrappa BK, Nanjappa HV, Prabhakar MJ. Studies on NPK drip fertigation in field grown tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.). Eur J Agron. 2004;21(1):117-27. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1161-0301(03)00091-1
  32. 32. Jayakumar M, Surendran U, Manickasundaram P. Drip fertigation program on growth, crop productivity, water, and fertilizer-use efficiency of Bt cotton in semi-arid tropical region of India. Commun Soil Sci Plant Anal. 2015;46(3):293-304. https://doi.org/10.1080/00103624.2014.969403
  33. 33. Sparks DL, Huang PM. Physical chemistry of soil potassium. In: Potassium in Agriculture; 1985. p. 201-76. https://doi.org/10.2134/1985.potassium.c9
  34. 34. Kafkafi U, Bar‐Yosef B, Rosenberg R, Sposito G. Phosphorus adsorption by kaolinite and montmorillonite: II. Organic anion competition. Soil Sci Soc Am J. 1988;52(6):1585-9. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1988.03615995005200060012x
  35. 35. Singh AK, Choudhury BU, Bouman BA. Effects of rice establishment methods on crop performance, water use, and mineral nitrogen. In: Water-wise rice production. Los Baños: International Rice Research Institute; 2002. p. 237-46.
  36. 36. Mmolawa K, Or D. Root zone solute dynamics under drip irrigation: a review. Plant Soil. 2000;222(1):163-90. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1004756832038
  37. 37. Zeng DQ, Brown PH, Holtz BA. Potassium fertigation improves soil K distribution, builds pistachio yield and quality. Fluid J. 2000;1-2.
  38. 38. Suganya S, Anitha A, Appavu K. Movement and distribution of moisture, phosphorus and potassium under drip fertigation in rose. Asian J Soil Sci. 2007;2(2):60-4.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.