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- Title
Soil and foliar chemistry associated with potassium deficiency in Pinus radiata.
- Authors
Smethurst, Philip; Knowles, Andrew; Churchill, Keith; Wilkinson, Ann; Lyons, Arthur
- Abstract
We required an improved understanding of K deficiency and diagnosis in Pinus radiata D. Don (radiata pine). A rapid growth response to K fertilization (100 kg·ha–1) in the presence of weed control confirmed K deficiency in a 2-year-old stand. Tree growth did not respond to N fertilization, and weed control alone appeared insufficient to maximize tree growth. Temporal patterns in visual symptoms of K deficiency suggested they were worst at the end of a drought, and improved after several months of above-average rainfall that coincided with an increase in soil temperature. Soil chemistry generally responded predictably to fertilization, but K fertilization increased soil solution Ca and Mg concentrations without changing exchangeable concentrations. With weed control, a doubling of stem growth response to K fertilizer was associated with a 270% increase in soil solution K (natural variation amongst control plots), 51% increase in exchangeable K, and 39% increase in foliar K. Relationships between seedling growth and hydroponic concentrations of K were consistent with the incidence of K deficiency in the field; predicting these deficiencies using soil exchangeable concentrations was less clear. This study advances the interpretation of soil and foliar chemistry in relation to K and Mg deficiency in P. radiata.
- Subjects
POTASSIUM deficiency diseases; PINUS radiata; SOIL chemistry; PLANT nutrition; SOIL fertility; PINE; PLANTS
- Publication
Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 2007, Vol 37, Issue 6, p1093
- ISSN
0045-5067
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1139/X06-307