Vol. 11, Issue 6 (2022)

Author(s):
Aanisa Manzoor Shah, Shaista Nazir, Tajamul Islam Shah, Inayat Mustafa Khan, Aziz MA, AP Rai, Yasir Hanif Mir, Abid Hussain Dar, Suhail Nazir Bhat, Azrah, Mehvish Mansoor, Mir Shareen Mehraj, Raieesa, Tsering Dolker and Fehim Jeelani Wani

Abstract:
Potassium fractions serve as chemical markers of potassium stocks, furnishing capacity and their accessibility in soils. However, the allocation of various potassium fractions differs in response to fluctuations in land use and management practices. Therefore, the knowledge pertaining to potassium contribution from different pools in response to land use pattern grabs a prime importance for assessing the soil fertility status along with the provision of better interpretation in near future. The current study was performed to assess the distribution of different forms of soil potassium under different land uses of temperate lesser Himalayas during the year 2019-20. Surface samples (0 - 20 cm) were collected from different land uses of district Kupwara except for the horticultural land use from which both surface (0 - 20 cm) as well as sub-surface samples (20 - 40 cm) were taken. The results revealed that water soluble potassium ranged from 0.02 to 0.06 cmol_c kg^-1, available potassium from 0.09 - 0.44 cmol_c kg^-1 and exchangeable potassium from 0.07-0.34 cmol_c kg^-1. Non-exchangeable potassium was noted to vary from 1.54-4.22 cmol_c kg^-1, boiling nitrate extractable potassium from 1.63-4.66 cmol_c kg^-1 lattice potassium from 26.43-37.71 cmol_c kg^-1 while that of total potassium was observed to range from 28.05 - 42.36 cmol_c kg^-1. The magnitude of determined potassium forms was noted to be highest for agriculture irrigated soils followed by pasture soils and lowest in wasteland soils. A significant and positive correlation was observed among different potassium fractions.