Abstract
Potassium (K) is an essential and critical determinant of plant physiological and biochemical processes. Despite the fact, this nutrient is depleted or imbalanced due to intensive crop** and the problem is more serious in cotton-wheat or cotton-rapeseed crop** systems. To find out whether potassium application under reduced nitrogen (N) is necessary to keep the stress (imposed by K imbalance) away in densely and late-planted cotton or not. For this, a 2-year field experiment was carried out with the application of three K rates relative to reduced N (210 kg ha−1) viz. K1 = 80% of N, K2 = 100% of N, and K3 = 120% of N. Under higher K supply (K2 and K3), cotton leaf exhibited a substantial increase in leaf mass, relative water content, and specific leaf area, while decreased lipid peroxidation and proline content compared with low K treatment. Low K application not only decreased these parameters but also enhanced the production of hydrogen peroxide along with increases in antioxidant enzyme activities. Similarly, higher K rates showed a significant increase in lint yield by 10–20% and 10–24% compared with K1 in 2016 and 2017, respectively. The negative relationship between antioxidant enzyme activity and leaf K concentration was recorded. These findings concluded that the K supply equal to or higher than N, helped the cotton plant to maintain a favorable nutritional balance for growth and metabolism. However, from the economic point of view, the K supply must be equal to N to obtain adequate yield and satisfactory profit in cotton.
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This project was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31271665) and the Fundamental Research Fund for Central Universities (2662021PY003).
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Ali, S., Hafeez, A., Ma, X. et al. Potassium-Nitrogen Ratio Improved Cotton Yield by Regulating Antioxidant Metabolism Under a New Crop** Model for the Yangtze River Valley of China. J Soil Sci Plant Nutr 23, 1797–1815 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42729-023-01138-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42729-023-01138-1