Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-v9fdk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T13:00:49.265Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Concentrations of potassium in the dry matter and tissue water of field-grown spring barley and their relationships to grain yield

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

R. A. Leigh  and
A. E. Johnston
R. A. Leigh
Affiliation:
Rothamsted Experimental Station, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, AL5 2JQ
A. E. Johnston
Affiliation:
Rothamsted Experimental Station, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, AL5 2JQ
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

In 68 spring barley crops grown in five experiments at Rothamsted and Woburn between 1980 and 1982, and given adequate K fertilizer, there was a positive correlation (r = 0·76; P < 0·001) between maximum % K in dry matter of young plants and the grain yield at final harvest. In all crops changes in % K in dry matter during the growing season were directly related to changes in fresh weight to dry weight ratio (FW: DW) suggesting that differences in % K in dry matter were the result of differences in tissue hydration. Potassium concentrations expressed on the basis of tissue water were not correlated with grain yield. All crops maintained K concentrations in their tissue water of about 200 mmol/kg tissue water, except at the end of the growing season when water loss during ripening caused a steep rise.

The correlation between % K in dry matter and yield was the result of differences in FW: DW. Within each experiment there was a good correlation between FW: DW and grain yield, but because the relationship was different for each experiment the overall correlation for all crops was poor. The correlation between FW: DW and grain yield within experiments probably arises because crops with a higher FW: DW will have higher specific leaf areas and hence higher relative growth rates and yields.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 101 , Issue 3 , December 1983 , pp. 675 - 685
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1983

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ahmad, N. & Wyn Jones, R. G. (1982). Tissue distribution of glycinebetaine, proline and inorganic ions in barley at different times during the plant growth cycle. Journal of Plant Nutrition 5, 195–205.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Asher, C. J. & Ozanne, P. G. (1967). Growth and potassium content of plants in solution cultures maintained at constant potassium concentrations. Soil Science 103, 155–161.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cassidy, N. G. (1970). The distribution of potassium in plants. Plant and Soil 32, 263–267.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hunt, R. (1978). Plant Growth Analysis. London: Edward Arnold.Google Scholar
Johansbn, C. (1978). Effect of plant age on element concentrations in parts of Desmodium intortum cv. Greenleaf. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis 9, 279–297.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnston, A. E., Warren, R. G. & Penny, A. (1970). The value of residues from long-period manuring at Rothamsted and Woburn. V. The value to arable crops of residues accumulated from potassium fertilizers. Rothamsted Experimental Station, Report for 1969, Part 2, pp. 69–90.Google Scholar
Jungk, A. (1970). Mineral nutrients and moisture content in relation to plant development. Zeitschrift für Pflanzenernahrung und Bodenkunde 125, 119–129.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Läuchli, A. & Pflüoer, R. (1979). Potassium transport through plant cell membranes and metabolic role of potassium in plants. In Potassium Research – Review and Trends, pp. 111–163. Bern, Switzerland: International Potash Institute.Google Scholar
Leigh, R. A. & Johnston, A. E. (1983). The effects of fertilizers and drought on the concentrations of potassium in the dry matter and tissue water of field-grown spring barley. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 101, 741–748.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pitman, M. G. (1972). Uptake and transport of ions in barley seedlings. III. Correlation between transport to the shoot and relative growth rate. Australian Journal of Biological Sciences 25, 243–257.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pitman, M. G. (1975). Whole plants. In Ion Transport in Plant Cells and Tissues (ed. Baker, D. A. and Hall, J. L.), pp. 267–308. Amsterdam: North-Holland.Google Scholar
Schafer, P. (1977). Comparative investigation of plant analyses and soil tests in cereal cultivation with regard to the accuracy for the assessment of the effect of potassium on yields. Die Bodenkultur 28, 340–365.Google Scholar
Wyn Jones, R. G., Brady, C. J. & Spiers, J. (1979). Ionic and osmotic relations in plant cells. In Recent Advances in the Biochemistry of Cereals (ed. Laidman, D. L. and Jones, R. G. Wyn), pp. 63–103. London: Academic Press.Google Scholar