Nake, Steven, Nelson, Paul N., and Banabas, Murom (2015) Potassium fixation and release: effects of management under oil palm in alluvial clay soils, Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea. In: ACIAR Proceedings (144) pp. 28-32. From: Workshop on Sustainable Management of Soil in Oil Palm Plantings, 7-8 November 2013, Medan, Indonesia.

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Abstract

Potassium deficiency is common in oil palm on alluvial clay soils in Milne Bay Province. These soils have high exchangeable Ca and Mg contents with low K. They are dominated by smectite and vermiculite, which fix K. Potassium fertiliser application is applied in oil palm plantations to alleviate K deficiency. This study was done to understand the fate of applied K in K-fixing soils in oil palm plantations and determine management strategies to optimise profitability and soil fertility.

Soils were sampled from 3 different management zones in plots with and without K fertiliser history in two long-term fertiliser trials. Potassium chloride was added to the soil and ammonium acetate to extract exchangeable K. Fixed K was determined as the difference between added K and exchangeable K.

Fixation was significantly (p<0.001) affected by the K fertiliser history and management zones. In soils and zones that had received no K fertiliser, 27% of added K was fixed in both trials, while in the plots with a history of K fertiliser, there was little net fixation in the weeded circle zone and a considerable release in the frond pile and ‘between zones’ zones.

This study showed that fixation and release was a function of management, suggesting that K fertiliser placement might have a considerable effect on uptake efficiency in these K-fixing soils.

Item ID:	31529
Item Type:	Conference Item (Research - E1)
ISBN:	978-1-925133-63-9
ISSN:	1038-6920
Related URLs:	Organisation
Funders:	Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR)
Date Deposited:	17 Apr 2014 01:32
FoR Codes:	05 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES > 0503 Soil Sciences > 050304 Soil Chemistry (excl Carbon Sequestration Science) @ 50% 07 AGRICULTURAL AND VETERINARY SCIENCES > 0703 Crop and Pasture Production > 070306 Crop and Pasture Nutrition @ 50%
SEO Codes:	82 PLANT PRODUCTION AND PLANT PRIMARY PRODUCTS > 8203 Industrial Crops > 820399 Industrial Crops not elsewhere classified @ 50% 96 ENVIRONMENT > 9609 Land and Water Management > 960904 Farmland, Arable Cropland and Permanent Cropland Land Management @ 50%
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