Influence of Potassium in increasing Soil Fertility, Sustaining Productivity as well as Increasing Quality in Major Crops of Bangladesh: A Country Paper from Bangladesh
M S Islam*, S Noor** and S Akhter***
Division of Soil Science
Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute
Abstract
A brief review of K research activities initiated by IPI-BARI-BFA during the period of 2009-2011 has been made with a view to finding out the role of potassium in increasing soil fertility, sustaining productivity as well as improving quality in major crops of Bangladesh. Activities carried out by different NARS institutes on K have also been summarized. Preliminary research activities have shown that soil test based K application proved superior to other treatments in increasing the yields and yield contributing characters of the crops – maize and wheat under different agro ecological regions of the country. The treatment package consisting of N138P25K180S11 Mg10Zn2B1 kg ha-1 appeared best combination for maximizing yield (32.58 t ha-1) of potato (variety Diamont) in the study areas (AEZ-8). Significantly highest yield of turmeric (37.2 t ha-1) was observed with 160 kg K ha-1 and that of ginger (17.6 t ha-1) with 120 kg K ha-1 application showing 39% and 37% yield increases over native fertility (control) plot, respectively. Two foliar sprayings of SOP at 1.5% concentration resulted in increased bunch weight with better bunch and quality traits with an extended shelf life. The banana farmers in the study areas have become fully motivated to apply SOP spray for profitable banana cultivation. The research results of BRRI have confirmed the need for increasing the doses of present recommendation K fertilizer dose for the modern rice-rice and wheat- rice cropping patterns in flood free areas where yearly replenishment due to alluvial deposition does not occur. For maximum cane and sugar production in sugarcane monoculture BSRI has recommended an annual application of 150 kg N, 50 kg P, 34 kg S, 3.5 kg Zn ha-1 with STB K fertilizer i.e. 127 kg K along with cow dung (10 t ha-1) or poultry manure (5 t ha-1) to sustain high yields as well as to maintain soil fertility. BJRI has recommended 30-40 kg K/ha for optimum fiber jute production, while 10-15 kg K/ha is sufficient for seed production. For profitable tea cultivation BTRI has assessed the requirement of potassium for old and mature tea as 70 to 90 kg/ha while in case of young tea 40 to 60 kg/ha seem to be economic dose under Bangladesh condition. Foliar spraying of MOP along with urea helps tea plants from drought by reducing the transpiration losses.
Introduction
Bangladesh is the largest deltaic floodplain with a total area of 147570 km2 and one of the densely populated countries with more than 160 million people in the world. Agriculture is the life force of her economy. The country has been a food deficit area for long time and has about 8.2 million hectares of cultivated land with average cropping intensity of about 185 per cent (BBS 2010). Soil is the most important natural resource. The major crops grown include rice, wheat, maize, jute, sugarcane, tuber crops, oilseeds, pulses, tea, tropical fruits, winter and summer vegetables.
*Soil Scientist and Former Director General, **Chief Scientific Officer and Head, and *** Senior Scientific Officer
Increasing cropping intensity to meet the demands for food and other necessities for teeming millions has resulted in a gradual deterioration of the soil resources over the years. The food requirement of Bangladesh will be double in the next 25 years while its natural resource base will shrink. To keep pace with population growth, yields have to be increased by 60-70 per cent within that period (Islam 2006).
Although the total agricultural production has increased significantly, but recently declining or stagnation of major crop yields has been recorded in the country. This is due to the cumulative effects of many soil-related constrains. The important ones are nutrient mining, depletion of soil organic matter, imbalanced use of fertilizers, scanty use of bio and organic fertilizers and poor management practices.
In the recent years, intensive crop cultivation using high yielding varieties of crop with imbalanced fertilization has led to mining out the inherent plant nutrients from the soils and thereby fertility status of the soils has declined severely in the country. Available data indicate that the fertility of most of our soils has deteriorated over the years (Ali et al. 1997 and Islam 2008) which is responsible for stagnation and in some cases, even declining crop yields. Annual depletion of nutrients (NPKS) in areas under intensive cultivation ranges between 180 and 250 kg ha-1 yr-1.
The use of chemical fertilizers mainly for NPKS has been increasing steadily but they are not applied in balanced proportion. An analysis of nutrient use ratio shows that potassium use is low and that’s why its deficiency is wide-spread all over the country. Therefore, it is very important that potassium should receive due attention with a view to sustaining soil productivity as well as improving quality in the crops grown in Bangladesh.
The major objectives of this paper is to review the activities of present IPI-BARI-BFA project initiated in 2009-10 and also to highlight potash research activities undertaken by other NARS institutes in the country.
Potassium scenario in Bangladesh agriculture
Potassium is the third major plant nutrient identified as deficient in most Bangladesh soils (Noor et al.1998). The previous idea about the sufficiency of potassium in Bangladesh soils might be true for local crop varieties with low yield potentials. One-ton wheat ha-1 or 2-ton rice ha-1 can be obtained from soils where K would not be a limiting factor without K fertilizers. The crop intensification with high yielding and hybrid/super hybrid varieties has shown wide-spread deficiency of potassium in Bangladesh soils on potato, sweet potato and other root crops, sugarcane, fruit, onion, garlic, fiber crops and HYV cereals (Islam et al.1985; Kundu et al. 1998; Noor et al. 1993 and Miah et al. 2008). It has been recorded that a 5 ton ha-1 rice crop will remove more than 110 kg K which is to be made available to plants in less than 3 months’ time.
Alluvial soils of Bangladesh are comparatively rich in potash bearing minerals than the terraces that are older and show evidences of extensive weathering of 2:1 type minerals as well as potash bearing minerals. These soils may not release K fast enough to match the crop requirements especially of the modern varieties to sustain yields. Potassium may also be leached and deficiency of K may become a production constraint in light sandy soils of recent alluvium with high percolation rate (72 mm/day).The critical levels of potassium for Bangladesh soils have been determined 0.09-0.18 meq/100 g soil as low, 0.18-0.27 meq/100 g as medium, 0.27-0.36 meq/100 g as optimum and above 0.36 meq/100 g high.
The use of potassium in Bangladesh agriculture started from 1960. Its use increased significantly along with nitrogen, phosphorus and other nutrients since 1980 after intensification of cropping. The fertilizer use scenario during last 10 years is shown in Table 2. Entire requirement of potash is met by import from Germany, Canada and CIS. Nutrient use analysis shows that the use of potassium as compared to N and P is low and unsatisfactory (Table 3). Just like N, K balance in the soils is always negative (Table 1).
Table 1 here
Table 2 here
Table 3 here
IPI-BARI-BFA Activities
During the period of November 2009 – June 2011 eight experiments- two on maize, two on wheat, one each on potato, turmeric, ginger and banana were carried out at different agro ecological regions of the country to find out the optimum doses of potash and other fertilizers for sustaining the crop productivity as well as for improving quality in the produces.
Table 4 here
Table 5 here
Experiment on Maize
Two field trials were conducted one at Gazipur (AEZ 28) and another at Multi Location Trial (MLT) site of Kushtia Sadar (AEZ 11) during the Rabi(winter) season of 2009-2010 at the farmers’ fields. The objectives were to ascertain the yield potential of hybrid maize through K management. There were five treatments. For Gazipur these were – T1: Native fertility, T2: High Yield Goal (HYG) Full dose of Fertilizer Recommendation Guide (FRG) dose of K (K100) + (N250P50S30Mg10B1.5 kg/ha), T3: HYG STB K (K80) + (N200P35S20Mg7B1.2 kg/ha), T4: HYG STB K (K80) + (N200P35S20Mg7B1.2 kg/ha) + 5 t/ha CD (Cow dung), T5: HYG STB K (K80) + (N200P35S20Mg7B1.2 kg/ha) + 3 t/ha PM (Poultry Manure) ; and for Kustia – T1: Native fertility, T2 : HYG FRG K (K120) + (N250P50S30Mg15B2kg/ha), T3: HYG STB K(K100) + (N225P40S25Mg15B1.5 kg/ha), T4: HYG STB K (K100) + (N225P40S25Mg15B1.5 kg/ha) + 5 t/ha CD, T5: HYG STB K (K100) + (N225P40S25Mg15B1.5 kg/ha) + 3 t/ha PM. The experiments were laid out in Randomized Complete Block (RCB) design with three replications.
The data presented in Table 6 from Gazipur reveal that yield and yield contributing characters were favorably influenced by different treatments. T5 produced the highest yield of maize grain (8.54 t ha-1).
Table 6 here
At Kustia significantly highest grain yield was obtained with treatment package T5 (8.51 t ha-1) which was identical with T4 (8.11 t ha-1) (Table 7). The weight of cob and 1000- grain weight of maize were also
Table 7 here
recorded highest in T5 treatment. From the results obtained, it can be concluded that treatment package T5 consisting of N225P40 K100S25Mg15B1.5 kg/ha + 3 t/ha PM appeared best combination for maximizing the yield of maize in the study area (AEZ 11).
The native fertility treatment produced the lowest yield. The treatment package consisting of 3 t PM ha-1 with HYG (STB) chemical fertilizers (N200P35K80S20Mg7B1.2 kg/ha) appeared as the best suited combination for maximizing the yield of maize in the study area (AEZ-28). Between the two organic fertilizers poultry manure proved superior.
Experiment on Wheat
Field experiments on wheat were carried out at the High Ganges River Floodplain Soils (AEZ-11) of Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS), Ishurdi, Pabna and Agricultural Research Station, Burirhat, Rangpur of the Non-Calcareous Grey Floodplain Soil under Tista Meander Floodplain (AEZ-3) during the Rabi season of 2009- 2010. The objectives were to estimate potassium requirement for sustainable yield of wheat at both the locations where it is extensively cultivated. The variety used in the experiment was Shatabdi. There were five treatments viz. T1: Native fertility, T2: HYG FRG K (K75) + (N120P35S20Zn5B1.5 kg/ha), T3: HYG STB K (K65) + (N110P30S15 Zn4B1.5 kg/ha), T4: HYG STB K (K65) + (N110P30S15 Zn4B1.5kg/ha) + 5 t/ha CD, T5: HYG STB K (K65) + (N110P30S15 Zn4B1.5 kg/ha) + 3 t/ha PM. The experiments were laid out in RCB design with three replications. The results obtained showed highest yield from the T5 treatment containing N110P30K65S15Zn4B1.5 kg/ha + PM @ 3 t ha-1 in each location (Tables 8 & 9). This treatment was statistically similar with T4 treatment (N110P30K65S15Zn4B1.5 kg/ha + CD @ 5 t ha-1).
Table 8 here
Table 9 here
From the experimental results, it can be concluded that the treatment package consisting of 3 t PM ha-1 with HYG (STB) chemical fertilizers (N110P30K65S15Zn4B1.5 kg/ha) appeared best combination for maximizing yield of wheat in the study areas (AEZ-11 and AEZ-3).
Experiment on Potato
A field experiment was conducted with Diamont variety of potato at the Tuber Crop Research SubCenter, Munshiganj during the Rabi season of 2010-2011 to find out the optimum dose of K and its effect on yield and quality of potato. There were five treatments. T1: K0, T2: K90, T3: K180, T4: K270, T5: K Farmers practice (FP). A blanket dose of N138P25S11Mg10Zn2B1 was used in each treatment. The results reveal that application of K up to 180 kg K ha-1 (T3) significantly increased potato yield (32.57 t ha-1) and at the highest level of K application (270 kg K ha-1), yield was declined (31.03 t ha-1) (Table 10).
Table 10 here
Results also showed the lowest yield (25.5 t ha-1) of potato in T1 treatment where no K was applied. In case of grading, highest number (387) and yield (27.5 kg plot-1) of medium sized potato (28-55 mm) was obtained from 180 kg K ha-1 application. From the experimental results, it can be concluded that the treatment package consisting of N138P25K180S11 Mg10Zn2B1 kg/ha appeared best combination for maximizing yield of potato in the study areas (AEZ-8).
Experiment on Turmeric and Ginger
Two field experiments one each on turmeric and ginger were conducted in Non Calcareous Grey Floodplain soil under AEZ 4 at the Spice Research Center (SRC), BARI at Shibganj, Bogra during 2010-2011 to find out the optimum dose of potassium for the maximum economic yield of turmeric and ginger. BARI Holud-2 (Sinduri) and BARI Ada-1 were selected as test varieties of turmeric and ginger, respectively. There were five treatments viz. T1=K0, T2=K40, T3=K80, T4=K120 and T5=K160 kg ha-1. The experiments were laid out in randomized complete block (RCB) design replicated three times. A blanket dose of N133P18S13 and N133P23S12133-23-12 for turmeric and ginger, respectively were used. Increasing levels of K significantly increased yield and yield parameters up to the highest dose selected (160 kg ha-1) in turmeric but in ginger, highest yield and yield attributes were obtained up to 120 kg K ha-1 (Tables 11 and 12). Significantly highest yield of turmeric (37.2 t ha-1) was obtained from 160 kg K ha-1 and that of ginger (17.6 t ha-1) from 120 kg K ha-1 application. K application produced 39% and 37% yield increases in turmeric and ginger, respectively.
Table 11 here
Table 12 here
Experiment on Banana
An experiment on banana was conducted at the farmer’s field of the MLT site, Shibganj, Bogra (AEZ 3) during 2009-10 to evaluate the effect of post-shooting spray of sulphate of potash (SOP) on bunch yield, quality and shelf life and to integrate SOP on the nutrient management practices. The experiment was conducted with cultivar Amritsagar in a randomized complete block (RCB) design with five treatments replicated four times. The treatments were: T1 = 0%, T2 = 0.5%, T3= 1.0%, T4=1.5% and T5=2% SOP spray. A blanket dose of N276P60K140S150 kg/ha and CD15 kg/plant was applied. Spraying was done twice, first immediately after opening of the last hand and second, 30 days after the first spray. The results of the study indicated the benefit of post-shoot application of SOP (Tables 13, 14 and 15). Foliar sprayings of SOP at 1.5 percent concentration twice resulted in increased bunch weight with better bunch and quality traits with an extended shelf life. These results are in agreement with the findings of Ramesh and Kumar (2007). Table 13 here
Table 14 here
Table 15 here
From the study it is quite evident that SOP has a significant positive effect on growth, yield, quality and shelf life of banana. The banana farmers are interested and fully motivated to apply SOP sprayings in banana crop in the study area (AEZ 3).
Other Institutes/Organizations’ Activities
Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI)
Rice: Rice is the principal and food security crop of Bangladesh occupying more than 75% of the total cultivated land. The response of modern and hybrid rice is dramatic and significant to potassium fertilization (Table 16). While conducting trials, Mia et al. (2008) at the BRRI stated that potassium fertilization significantly increased the production of rice-rice and rice-wheat cropping systems. Their research findings show that initially, the decrease of yield of rice and wheat due to omission of K was not significant but the yield gap between the balanced fertilized and the no applied K plot widened sharply and significantly with time. Long-term omission of K severely intensified the K depletion problem. Crop residue may be a reasonable additional source of potassium for crop nutrition but the highest productivity is achieved with mineral potash fertilizer use. Light textured soils responded more than heavy textured soils to applied K. The response of grain yield to added K was found to be more prominent in dry rice season than that in wet rice season; and in wheat compared to rice. Application of K fertilizer at 50 kg ha-1 at each crop in rice – fallow – rice cropping pattern in clay loam soil and 66 kg ha-1 in each of wheat and rice crop in wheat – fellow – rice cropping system in sandy loam soil appeared to be economically most viable doses. These results have confirmed the need for increasing the doses of present recommendation K fertilizer dose for the modern rice-rice and wheat- rice cropping patterns in flood free areas where yearly replenishment due to alluvial deposition does not occur.
Table 16 here
Table 17 here
Table 18 here
Table 19here
Table 20 here
Bangladesh Sugarcane Research Institute (BSRI)
Sugarcane: Sugarcane is an important cash crop of Bangladesh covering 0.16 million hectares of land and producing 7.8 million tons cane in 2010-11. This crop is high nutrient demanding and thereby can deplete the soil nutrients rapidly, especially potassium. Potassium in sugarcane plant performs many physiological activities including photosynthesis, protein synthesis and water balance, organic and inorganic nutrient mobility (Subramanian 1994). It has been noted that 85 tons of fresh weight of a sugarcane crop can remove 122, 24 and 142 kg N, P, and K ha-1 from the soils, respectively (Boktiar et al. 2001). If the depleted nutrients are not replaced, soil fertility level and soil organic matter decline creating a stressed soil environment that essentially requires optimal and balanced use of fertilizers (Ahmad 2002).
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Review of research results carried out by BSRI shows that potassium application is always beneficial and increases the yields significantly. The results of a field experiment conducted on a typical calcareous soil of Bangladesh through soil test-based (STB) application of potassium combined with organic manure i.e. cow dung (CD) or poultry manure (PM) confirms the previous findings. In this investigation there were five treatments. In four treatments, K supply was varied with mineral fertilizer supply of N, P, S and Zn remaining same across all the treatments. Potassium was applied as T1 90 kg K ha-1, T2 127 kg K ha-1, T3 95 kg K ha-1 plus 10 tons ha-1CD and T4 90 kg K ha-1 plus 5 tons ha-1 PM. In the fifth treatment no fertilizer was applied. The number of tillers and millable cane stalks did not differ significantly between the four K treatments, but the values were significantly greater than in treatment T5 where no fertilizer was applied. Potassium application based on STB (T2) increased cane yield by 25.4 per cent in comparison to the present recommended K application (T1) of 90 kg K ha-1. However, applying only 75 percent K of STB along with CD (T3) or with PM (T4) increased cane yield by 16 percent and 17.7 percent respectively, when compared to the present recommended dose of K fertilizer (T1). Maximum cane and sugar production in sugarcane monoculture requires an annual application of currently recommended doses of N, P, S and Zn fertilizer of 150 kg N, 50 kg P, 34 kg S, 3.5 kg Zn ha-1 with STB K fertilizer i.e. 127 kg K to sustain high yields. Nevertheless, 75 percent of STB K fertilizer i.e. 95 kg K and 150 kg N, 50 kg P, 34 kg S, 3.5 kg Zn ha-1 supplied together with CD (10 tons ha-1) or PM (5 tons ha-1) is also suggested as a means to sustain both sugarcane yield and to maintain soil fertility ( Boktiar et al. 2011).
Table 21 here
| |
Bangladesh Jute Research Institute (BJRI)
Jute: Jute is the unique natural fiber crop derived from the popular species viz. Corchorus capsularis and Corchorus olitorius and is grown on 0.4-0.5 million hectares of land with an average production of 55-65 bales per year. It is the main cash crop of Bangladesh, contributing about 5-6% of total foreign exchange earnings and 4-5% of country’s GDP. It grows well under higher temperature (>30o C ) and humidity (>80% ) with intermittence rain fall and sunshine hours of more than 12.5hrs. Experiment conducted in Kishoregonj and Comilla (Chandina) with different nutrient element showed that balanced application of fertilizer is needed for higher production of jute (Fig. 1). 
Fig. 02.K fertilizer application at the rate of 30 - 40 K kg /ha was sufficient for obtaining higher yield of jute fiber in almost all varieties (Table 22). For optimum seed production of jute 10-15 kg K /ha application was found sufficient. Nutrient balance studies have shown that K removal is higher (150 to 200 kg K/ha) than addition (30-40 kg K/ha).
Table 22 here
Bangladesh Tea Research Institute (BTRI)
Tea: Tea is grown all over the world in acidic soils in humid zones where the content of base (K, Ca, Mg) is low. These soils are mostly kaolinite and as such K is as ephemeral as N. Therefore, potassium doesn’t accumulate in the soils. Potassium release through weathering and decomposition of organic matter is either taken up by the plants or lost by leaching. Various factors affect the efficiency of K utilization by tea plants. Relative efficiency of K in relation to soil pH may be stated as follows:
| Soil pH | Efficiency of K |
| 5.2 | 80 |
| 5.0 | 70 |
| 4.8 | 60 |
| 4.5 | 50 |
Tea growing soils of Bangladesh are not rich in potassium. It reveals from the analytical data that the available K concentration of the soil varies from 20 to 150 μg g-1. Usually valleys contain higher amount of potassium compared to sloppy hills. The potassium requirement of tea plants is higher and shortage of potassium causes physiological disturbances resulting in poor yield, higher mortality of plants and susceptible to diseases.
An experiment undertaken in the Northern tea growing areas of Bangladesh aiming to find out the effect of potassium on the yield of mature tea shows that K application is beneficial and increases the yield with increasing rates of application. The treatments included in tea field experiments were:
| Treatments | Doses | Average made tea kg/ha |
| T1 = | 0 kg/ha + Basal Dose of fertilizer | 997 |
| T2 = | 30 kg/ha + Basal Dose of fertilizer | 1141 |
| T3 = | 40 kg/ha + Basal Dose of fertilizer | 1316 |
| T4 = | 50 kg/ha + Basal Dose of fertilizer | 1437 |
| T5 = | 60 kg/ha + Basal Dose of fertilizer | 1504 |
| T6= | 70 kg/ha + Basal Dose of fertilizer | 1666 |
Ali et al. (1977) reported that the requirement of potassium for old and mature tea is 70 to 90 kg/ha while in case of young tea 40 to 60 kg/ha seem to be economic dose under Bangladesh condition. In North- East India, the present recommendations of K for mature tea vary from 33 to 100 kg ha-1yr-1 (Rahman 1977). Muriate of potash (MOP) foliar spray with urea provides resistance against drought, frost, pests and diseases as well as improves tea yield and quality.
Conclusions and Recommendations
Potassium is the third major plant nutrient recently identified as deficient in most Bangladesh soils. The previous idea about the sufficiency of potassium in Bangladesh soils might be true for local crop varieties with low yield potentials. Launching crop intensification with high yielding and hybrid varieties has shown wide-spread deficiency of potassium in Bangladesh soils. Potato, sweet potato and other root crops, HYV cereals, fiber crops, sugarcane, tea, onion, garlic, fruit and vegetables are the major crops being affected by low supply of potassium. It has been recorded that a 5 ton ha-1 rice crop will remove more than 110 kg K which is to be made available to plants in less than 3 months’ time and many of our old and highly weathered soils may not have potential to supply K at this rate.
All the experimental results have shown strong evidences that present K recommendation as suggested in the National Fertilizer Recommendation Guide 2005 is low. If the present low use trend continues, the K fertility of the soils will further be deteriorated and thus any food production program of the government to achieve self-sufficiency in food crops is bound to suffer. Therefore, it is high time that the rate of K should be increased for balancing it with N, P and other nutrients for increasing soil fertility, sustaining productivity as well as increasing quality of the crops produced.
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Table 1. Nutrient dynamics in Boro- Fallow – T. Aman cropping pattern (DAE-SFFP 2002)
| Nutrient dynamics | N (kg/ha) | P (kg/ha) | K (kg/ha) | ||||
| | | | | | | | |
| Nutrient uptake cropping pattern | | 180 | | 27 | | 180 | |
| Leaching losses from: i) Soil ii) Fertilizer | 12 17 | - - | 6 - | ||||
| Erosion | 12 | 2 | 12 | ||||
| Gaseous losses: organic | 24 | - | - | ||||
| N fertilizer | 68 | | | ||||
| Total Output | 313 | 29 | 198 | ||||
| | | | | ||||
| Fertilizer | 170 | 25 | 75 | ||||
| Organic manure (5t/ha) | 20 | 12 | 24 | ||||
| Incorporated crop residue | 25 | 3 | 25 | ||||
| Non symbiotic fixation | 10 | - | - | ||||
| Atmospheric fixation | 8 | 1 | 2 | ||||
| Sedimentation/weathering | - | 2 | 10 | ||||
| Irrigation water | 2 | 6 | 21 | ||||
| Total Input | 235 | 49 | 157 | ||||
| Balance | -78 | 20 | -41 | ||||
Table 2. Off-take of different mineral fertilizers in Bangladesh during 1980-2011 (tons)
| YEARS | UREA | TSP | SSP | DAP | MOP | GYPSUM | ZINC SULPHATE | AS | OTHERS | TOTAL |
| 1980-81 | 559766 | 215061 | --- - | --- | 45204 | --- | --- | --- | 50 | 820081 |
| 1984-85 | 831801 | 345670 | --- | 403 | 69271 | 1379 | 1217 | --- | 10480 | 1260221 |
| 1990-91 | 1323397 | 514761 | 12120 | --- | 149761 | 101782 | 2743 | 2763 | 211 | 2107538 |
| 1995-96 | 2045535 | 111095 | 596881 | --- | 155881 | 103577 | 1029 | 8692 | --- | 3022690 |
| 2000-01 | 2121096 | 399428 | 138589 | 90077 | 123788 | 115578 | 15500 | 13500 | 13000 | 3030556 |
| 2001-02 | 2247422 | 401464 | 127123 | 127033 | 233249 | 150520 | 3000 | 13500 | 10000 | 3313311 |
| 2002-03 | 2247000 | 375130 | 132527 | 122010 | 270620 | 140000 | 5000 | 13500 | 13000 | 3318787 |
| 2003-04 | 2324080 | 361000 | 148000 | 90000 | 240000 | 120000 | 6000 | 13500 | 26000 | 3328580 |
| 2004-05 | 2523395 | 420029 | 170931 | 140718 | 260385 | 135704 | 10000 | 20000 | 99000 | 3780162 |
| 2005-06 | 2451370 | 436470 | 130390 | 145000 | 290670 | 104950 | 25000 | 20000 | 160000 | 3763850 |
| 2006-07 | 2575000 | 340000 | 122000 | 115000 | 230000 | 72000 | 26000 | 25000 | 125000 | 3630000 |
| 2007-08 | 2685000 | 380000 | 100000 | 240000 | 380000 | 160000 | 45000 | 24000 | 100000 | 4114000 |
| 2008-09 | 2400000 | 200000 | 25000 | 50000 | 150000 | 100000 | 30000 | 25000 | 100000 | 3080000 |
| 2009-10 | 2500000 | 350000 | --- | 200000 | 250000 | 150000 | 50000 | 20000 | 170000 | 3690000 |
| 2010-11 | 2831000 | 560000 | --- | 380000 | 490000 | 130000 | 50000 | 20000 | 190000 | 4651000 |
| 2011-12 | 2869000 | 615000 | --- | 560000 | 620000 | 130000 | 50000 | 20000 | 190000 | 5054000* |
Source: MoA(2011) *projected
Table 3. The use of N:P:K nutrients during 2000-2011
| Year | Nitrogen (N) | Phosphate (P205) | Potash K2O | Total | N:P:K |
| 2000-01 | 991086 | 248900 | 79800 | 1319786 | 1:0.25:0.08 |
| 2000-01 | 991086 | 248900 | 79800 | 1319786 | 1:0.25:0.08 |
| 2001-02 | 1060815 | 276840 | 148620 | 1486275 | 1:0.26:0.14 |
| 2002-03 | 1060315 | 254640 | 167240 | 1482195 | 1:0.24:0.16 |
| 2003-04 | 1123435 | 327200 | 202300 | 1652935 | 1:0.29:0.18 |
| 2004-05 | 1184400 | 307252 | 225220 | 1716872 | 1:0.26:0.19 |
| 2005-06 | 1231700 | 307500 | 185000 | 1724200 | 1:0.25:0.15 |
| 2006-07 | 1221710 | 221620 | 140000 | 1583330 | 1:0.18:0.12 |
| 2007-08 | 1248140 | 321200 | 230000 | 1799340 | 1:0.26:0.18 |
| 2008-09 | 1117040 | 162000 | 92000 | 1371040 | 1:0.15:0.08 |
| 2009-10 | 1167800 | 264000 | 150000 | 1581800 | 1:0.23:0.13 |
| 2010-11 | 1184658 | 290094 | 189602 | 1664354 | 1:0.24:0.16 |
Table 4. Initial soil characteristics of the experimental sites
| Location | pH | OM% | meq/100g | Total N (%) | mg/g | ||||||||
| Ca | Mg | K | P | S | B | Mn | Fe | Cu | Zn | ||||
| Shibgonj | 5.6 | 1.10 | 3.8 | 0.8 | 0.12 | 0.07 | 12 | 8 | 0.18 | 8.0 | --- | --- | 1.2 |
| Gazipur | 7.1 | 0.51 | 10.0 | 2.9 | 0.07 | 0.07 | 34 | 24 | 0.30 | 2.0 | 159 | 5.0 | 0.91 |
| Kushtia | 7.4 | 1.60 | 10.2 | 3.0 | 0.11 | 0.09 | 20 | 18 | 0.40 | 2.8 | 98 | 5.8 | 1.3 |
| Ishurdi | 7.3 | 1.20 | 12.0 | 1.6 | 0.17 | 0.17 | 12 | 12 | 0.20 | 2.0 | 66 | 11.0 | 1.9 |
| Burirhat | 5.1 | 1.30 | 6.3 | 2.2 | 0.11 | 0.07 | 13 | 10 | 0.30 | 3.0 | 236 | 4.0 | 1.5 |
| Munshiganj | 5.0 | 1.46 | 6.4 | 2.2 | 0.14 | 0.083 | 38 | 32 | 0.19 | --- | 78 | 4.1 | 2.3 |
| Critical level | --- | --- | 2.0 | 0.8 | 0.20 | --- | 14 | 14 | 0.20 | 5.0 | 10 | 0.1 | 2.0 |
Table 5. Typical nutrient contents of poultry manure and cow dung used in the experimental fields
| Name of the manure | pH | OC | Ca | Mg | K | Total N | P | S | B | Zn | Pb | Cd | As |
| % | µg g-1 | ||||||||||||
| Poultry Manure | 8.0 | 17.9 | 14.0 | 2.60 | 0.88 | 2.17 | 2.35 | 0.88 | 0.011 | 0.12 | 4.09 | 3.10 | 1.31 |
| Cow dung | 7.6 | 12.8 | 1.65 | 0.47 | 0.55 | 1.07 | 1.22 | 0.36 | 0.012 | 0.13 | 3.11 | 2.80 | 1.22 |
Moisture content of CD = 12.02%, PM = 12.11%
Table 6. Effect of different treatments on yield and yield contributing parameters of maize at Gazipur
| Treatment | Cob weight (g) | 1000 grain wt (g) | Stalk yield (t/ha) | Grain yield (t/ha) | % Yield increase over control |
| T1 | 103.4 c | 337.5 | 3.92 c | 3.09 d | --- |
| T2 | 113.6 ab | 343.7 | 8.09 ab | 7.41 bc | 146 |
| T3 | 111.3 b | 339.9 | 7.44 b | 6.89 c | 129 |
| T4 | 116.3 ab | 347.0 | 8.56 ab | 7.91 ab | 163 |
| T5 | 120.2 a | 357.0 | 9.33 a | 8.54 a | 184 |
| CV (%) | 3.3 | NS | 8.9 | 7.4 | --- |
Means followed by same letter (s) do not differ significantly differ at 5% level of significance
Table 7. Effect of different treatments on yield and yield contributing parameters of maize at
Kustia
| Treatment | Cob weight (g) | 1000 grain wt (g) | Straw yield (t/ha) | Grain yield (t/ha) | % Yield increase over control |
| T1 | 104.2 b | 338.6 b | 3.25 c | 3.05 c | --- |
| T2 | 112.0 ab | 345.4 b | 7.81 ab | 7.56 b | 148 |
| T3 | 108.3 b | 342.9 b | 7.46 b | 7.27 b | 138 |
| T4 | 114.5 ab | 354.3 ab | 8.39 ab | 8.11 ab | 166 |
| T5 | 119.3 a | 363.4 a | 8.60 a | 8.51 a | 179 |
| CV (%) | 4.5 | 2.4 | 7.3 | 6.3 | --- |
Means followed by same letter (s) do not differ significantly at 5% level of significance
Table 8. Effect of different treatments on yield and yield contributing parameters of wheat in Ishurdi
during 2009-2010
| Treatment | Plant height (cm) | No of effective tiller/m | Spike length (cm) | Grain/spike | 1000 grain wt.(g) | Grain Yield (t/ha) |
| T1 | 79.5 c | 50 b | 7.1 b | 34 b | 43.7 | 2.35 c |
| T2 | 99.7 ab | 83 a | 9.3 a | 44 a | 43.8 | 3.79 b |
| T3 | 93.8 b | 83 a | 9.3 a | 44 a | 44.5 | 3.63 b |
| T4 | 99.9 ab | 84 a | 9.1 a | 43 a | 43.1 | 4.41 ab |
| T5 | 103.8 a | 84 a | 9.6 a | 45 a | 44.9 | 4.75 a |
| CV (%) | 4.6 | 8.3 | 4.9 | 5.0 | NS | 10.5 |
Means followed by same letter (s) do not differ significantly at 5% level of significance
Table 9. Effect of different treatments on yield and yield contributing parameters of
wheat in Rangpur during 2009-2010
| Treatment | Plant height (cm) | No of effective tiller/m | Spike length (cm) | Grain/spike | 1000 grain wt.(g) | Grain Yield (t/ha) |
| T1 | 83.0 c | 54 b | 9.2 | 31 b | 42.0 | 2.55 c |
| T2 | 93.8 ab | 78 a | 10.2 | 41 a | 43.8 | 4.11 b |
| T3 | 89.7 bc | 77 a | 10.2 | 39 ab | 42.7 | 3.94 b |
| T4 | 9.6 ab | 79 a | 9.9 | 45 a | 45.6 | 4.79 ab |
| T5 | 100.3 a | 81 a | 10.8 | 45 a | 46.3 | 5.16 a |
| CV (%) | 5.7 | 4.4 | NS | 10.7 | NS | 12.5 |
Means followed by same letter (s) do not differ significantly at 5% level of significance
Table 10. Effect of potassium on yield and yield contributing parameters of potato in Munshiganj
during 2010-2011
| Treatments | Stem/hill at 60 DAP | Tuber Grading (Number/plot) | Tuber Grading (kg/plot) | Yield (t/ha) | ||||
| <28 mm | 28-55 mm | >55 mm | <28 mm | 28-55 mm | >55 mm | |||
| T1 | 5.4 | 88.0 a | 316.3 | 6.67 b | 0.8 a | 21.1 c | 0.77 d | 25.50 c |
| T2 | 5.7 | 85.3 a | 354.7 | 8.33 b | 0.8 a | 22.6 c | 1.30 c | 27.13 bc |
| T3 | 6.5 | 42.7 c | 387.3 | 13.7 a | 0.3 c | 27.5 a | 2.50 a | 32.57 a |
| T4 | 6.0 | 65.0 b | 386.0 | 13.3 a | 0.6 b | 25.2 b | 2.47 a | 31.03 ab |
| T5 | 5.8 | 77.3 ab | 359.0 | 12.3 a | 0.7 ab | 24.8 b | 1.67 b | 30.07 ab |
| CV (%) | 12.1 | 11.2 | NS | 14.0 | `15.2 | 4.0 | 6.8 | 7.2 |
Means followed by same letter (s) do not differ significantly at 5% level of significance
Table 11. Yield and yield contributing characters of turmeric as affected by different rates of K
application during 2010-11 at Shibganj, Bogra
| Treatments | Finger diameter (mm) | Finger weight (g) | Rhizome weight plant-1 (g) | Yield (kg plot-1) | Fresh Rhizome yield (t ha-1) | Yield increase over control (%) |
| T1 | 22.6 c | 383.3 c | 626.7 c | 20.13 d | 26.8 d | - |
| T2 | 24.1 bc | 428.3 bc | 680.0 bc | 22.40 cd | 29.9 cd | 11 |
| T3 | 24.8 abc | 491.7 b | 740.0 b | 23.83 bc | 31.8bc | 19 |
| T4 | 25.2 ab | 658.3 a | 820.0 a | 26.43 ab | 35.2 ab | 32 |
| T5 | 26.6 a | 733.3 a | 890.0 a | 27.93 a | 37.2 a | 39 |
| CV (%) | 4.9 | 7.5 | 5.5 | 6.7 | 6.7 | |
Table 12. Yield and yield contributing characters of ginger as affected by different rates of K application during 2010-11 at Shibganj, Bogra
| Treatments | Rhizome weight plant-1 (g) | Yield (kg plot-1) | Fresh Rhizome yield (t ha-1) | Yield increase over control (%) |
| T1 | 245.0 d | 9.6 c | 12.8 c | - |
| T2 | 290.0 c | 11.4 b | 15.2 b | 19 |
| T3 | 350.0 ab | 12.1 ab | 16.1 ab | 26 |
| T4 | 380.0 a | 13.2 a | 17.6 a | 37 |
| T5 | 330.0 b | 10.9 bc | 14.5 bc | 13 |
| CV (%) | 5.3 | 7.4 | 7.4 | - |
Table 13. Effect of SOP foliar spray on yield traits of banana
| Treatment | No. of leaves/plant | Bunch wt. (kg) | Length of bunch(cm) | No. of hands | No. of fingers/hand |
| Control 0.05% SOP Spray 1% SOP Spray 1.5% SOP Spray 2% SOP Spray | 8.2 d 8.3 d 9.2 c 10.2 b 10.8 a | 27.47 b 28.17 b 28.60 b 33.55 a 32.30 a | 88.15 d 90.90 c 92.03 bc 95.07 a 94.15 ab | 8.71 d 8.94 c 9.10 b 9.28 a 9.15 ab | 13.7 d 15.6 c 16.3 c 20.3 a 18.7 b |
| CV (%) | 1.79 | 7.79 | 1.67 | 1.10 | 5.37 |
Table 14. Effect of SOP foliar spray on various finger traits of banana
| Treatment | Finger length (cm) | Finger girth (cm) | Finger wt. (g) | Pulp wt. (g) | Peel wt. (g) | Pulp : Peel ratio |
| Control 0.05% SOP Spray 1% SOP Spray 1.5% SOP Spray 2% SOP Spray | 16.02 c 16.40 b 16.60 b 17.45 a 17.20 a | 10.77 c 12.40 b 13.10 a 13.30 a 13.25 a | 173.5 d 179.0 cd 184.2 bc 197.9 a 192.5 ab | 88.82 93.54 94.57 102.34 99.52 | 74.54 80.92 84.82 92.11 89.56 | 1.19 1.16 1.12 1.11 1.11 |
| CV (%) | 1.19 | 2.15 | 3.26 | - | - | |
| Treatment | TSS (%) | PLW (%) | Maturity (days) | Green-life (days) | Shelf-life (days) | Yield (t/ha) |
| Control 0.05% SOP Spray 1% SOP Spray 1.5% SOP Spray 2% SOP Spray | 15.0 21.0 22.0 22.0 23.0 | 2.74 2.54 2.45 1.74 1.78 | 117 a 112 a 106 b 103 b 103 b | 4.9 5.5 5.7 6.2 6.5 | 6.5 7.8 8.2 9.1 8.9 | 51.64 d 58.35 c 64.54 b 73.18 a 69.78 a |
| CV (%) | - | - | 3.33 | - | - | 4.19 |
Table 15. Effect of SOP foliar spray on quality traits and post-harvest life of banana
Table 16. Effect of K rates on the grain yield of boro varieties at BRRI farm (BRRI 2009)
| K rate (kg/ha) | Grain yield (t/ha) | ||||
| BRRI dhan36 | BRRI dhan45 | Hybrid-EH1 | Hybrid-EH2 | | |
| Ko | 1.86 | 2.86 | 3.64 | 3.08 | |
| K20 | 5.01 | 5.70 | 6.40 | 6.48 | |
| K40 | 5.58 | 5.04 | 5.62 | 6.22 | |
| K60 | 5.90 | 5.93 | 5.92 | 6.00 | |
| K80 | 5.87 | 6.09 | 6.27 | 6.46 | |
| LSD (0.05) 0.64 | |||||
| CV (%) 7.3 | |||||
*FP = Farmers practice only for k based on the average of 25 local farmers (K18 in T. Aman and K37 in Boro); **CR = Crop residues; Flat dose for T. Aman: N-P-S-Zn @ 97-14-13-0 kg/ha, respectively; Flat dose for Boro: N-P-S-Zn @ 145-23-23-0 kg/ha, respectively
Table 17. Influence of K fertilizer on the grain yield of rice (t/ha) growing in Boro-Fallow-T Aman cropping pattern, BRRI farm, Gazipur, 2003-2007
| Treatment | T. Aman | Boro | Yearly | ||||||||||||
| | 2003 1st crop | 2004 3rd crop | 2005 5th crop | 2006 7th crop | 2007 9th crop | Mean yield | Yield increases(%) | 2004 2nd crop | 2005 4th crop | 2006 6th crop | 2007 8th crop*** | Mean yield | Yield increases (%) | Mean yield | Yield increases (%) |
| Ko | 3.09 | 3.62 | 3.28 | 3.39 | 2.89 | 3.25 | - | 4.82 | 5.11 | 5.18 | 4.66 | 4.94 | - | 4.10 | - |
| K33 | 3.25 | 3.93 | 3.56 | 4.46 | 3.52 | 3.74 | 15 | 5.41 | 5.60 | 5.67 | 4.82 | 5.38 | 9 | 4.56 | 12 |
| K50 | 3.22 | 4.16 | 3.70 | 4.55 | 3.47 | 3.82 | 17 | 5.65 | 6.08 | 5.77 | 5.31 | 5.70 | 15 | 4.76 | 16 |
| K66 | 3.19 | 4.43 | 3.64 | 4.47 | 3.25 | 3.80 | 17 | 5.33 | 5.97 | 5.89 | 5.30 | 5.62 | 14 | 4.71 | 15 |
| KFP | 3.20 | 3.84 | 3.54 | 4.44 | 3.03 | 3.61 | 11 | 5.12 | 5.54 | 5.46 | 4.80 | 5.23 | 6 | 4.42 | 8 |
| K0+CR** | 3.10 | 3.88 | 3.66 | 4.51 | 3.16 | 3.66 | 13 | 5.62 | 5.82 | 6.04 | 5.08 | 5.64 | 14 | 4.65 | 13 |
| LSD 0.05 | NS | 0.29 | 0.22 | 0.60 | 0.37 | | | 0.19 | 0.38 | 0.56 | NS | | | | |
| CV (%) | 3.6 | 4.8 | 4.1 | 9.1 | 7.7 | | | 2.3 | 4.4 | 6.5 | 8.6 | | | | |
Table 18. Influence of k fertilizer on the grain yield of rice (t/ha) at farmers fields’ grown in Boro-
Fallow-T Aman cropping pattern, Gazipur, 2003-2007
| Treatment | T. Aman | Boro | Yearly | |||||||||||
| | 2003 1st crop | 2004 3rd crop | 2005 5th crop | 2006 7th crop | Mean yield | Yield increases (%) | 2004 2nd crop | 2005 4th crop | 2006 6th crop | 2007 8th crop*** | Mean yield | Yield increases (%) | Mean yield | Yield increases (%) |
| Ko | 3.59 | 3.05 | 3.41 | 4.21 | 3.57 | - | 4.25 | 4.21 | 4.56 | 4.60 | 4.41 | - | 3.99 | - |
| KFP** | 3.72 | 3.47 | 3.90 | 4.59 | 3.92 | 10 | 4.85 | 5.23 | 5.05 | 5.42 | 5.14 | 17 | 4.53 | 13 |
| KSTB** | 3.95 | 3.70 | 4.40 | 5.07 | 4.28 | 20 | 5.20 | 5.95 | 5.73 | 5.69 | 5.64 | 28 | 4.96 | 24 |
Table 19. Influence of k fertilizer use on the grain yield of rice and wheat (t/ha) at the HDUST farm,
Dinajpur, 2003-2006
| Treatment | Rice | Wheat | ||||||||
| | 2003 1st crop | 2004 3rd crop | 2005 5th crop | Mean yield | Yield increases (%) | 2004 2nd crop | 2005 4th crop | 2006 6th crop | Mean yield | Yield increases (%) |
| Ko | 1.97 | 2.32 | 4.64 | 2.98 | -- | 2.64 | 1.99 | 2.33 | 2.32 | -- |
| K33 | 2.46 | 2.96 | 5.60 | 3.67 | 23 | 3.58 | 2.52 | 2.81 | 2.97 | 28 |
| K50 | 2.73 | 3.13 | 5.41 | 3.76 | 26 | 3.84 | 3.09 | 3.06 | 3.33 | 44 |
| K66 | 3.07 | 3.41 | 5.17 | 3.88 | 30 | 3.92 | 3.43 | 3.31 | 3.55 | 53 |
| KFP | 2.44 | 2.77 | 5.12 | 3.44 | 15 | 3.43 | 2.57 | 2.63 | 2.88 | 24 |
| K0+CR** | 2.50 | 2.90 | 5.34 | 3.58 | 20 | 3.20 | 2.60 | 2.63 | 2.81 | 21 |
| LSD 0.05 | 0.35 | 0.31 | 0.23 | | | 0.47 | 0.22 | 0.36 | | |
| CV (%) | 9 | 7 | 3 | | | 9 | 6 | 9 | | |
Basic application of N-P-S-Zn (kg/ha): 100-5.5-14-0.5 for rice and 133-18-31-0.5 for wheat
Table 20. Effect of K fertilizer use on the grain yield of rice and wheat (t/ha) on farmers’ fields at NW
region of Bangladesh
| Treatment | Rice | Wheat | ||||||||
| | 2003 1st crop | 2004 3rd crop | 2005 5th crop | Mean yield | Yield increases (%) | 2004 2nd crop | 2005 4th crop | 2006 6th crop | Mean yield | Yield increases (%) |
| Ko | 3.31 | 3.27 | 3.17 | 3.25 | -- | 1.52 | 1.84 | 2.59 | 1.98 | -- |
| KFP** | 3.68 | 3.81 | 3.60 | 3.70 | 14 | 2.79 | 2.73 | 2.84 | 2.79 | 41 |
| KSTB** | 3.89 | 4.16 | 4.14 | 4.06 | 25 | 3.72 | 3.60 | 3.71 | 3.68 | 86 |
| | Table 21. Effect of potassium fertilizer on the yield and yield parameters of a sugarcane crop | | |||||||||
| | Potassium (kg ha-1) and manure treatments | Yield | No. of tillers | No. millable cane stalks | Stalk height | Stalk thickness | Sucrose content | | |||
| | | mt ha-1 | ×103 ha-1 | m | cm | % | | ||||
| | T1: 90(1) | 100.7 b | 92.84 a | 82.72 a | 3.663 | 2.127 | 10.35 | | |||
| | T2: 127(1) | 126.3 a | 93.22 a | 84.92 a | 3.740 | 2.277 | 9.947 | | |||
| | T3: 95(1) + 10 mt ha-1 CD | 116.8 ab | 92.51a | 86.21 a | 3.827 | 2.100 | 10.41 | | |||
| | T4: 95(1) + 5 mt ha-1 PM | 118.5 ab | 93.28 a | 86.90 a | 3.460 | 2.080 | 10.22 | | |||
| | T5: no fertilizer | 60.1 c | 73.48 b | 70.51 b | 3.713 | 2.270 | 10.71 | | |||
| | LSD (.05) | 18.9 | 13.02 | 11.75 | NS | NS | NS | | |||
| | (1)Received also the recommended dose of 150, 50, 34 and 3.5 kg ha-1 of N, P, S and Zn, respectively. Figures with same letter do not differ significantly at 5% level as per DNMR test. | | |||||||||
| | | | |||||||||
Table 22. Effect of K on the growth and yield of BJRI Deshi pat-7 at Rangpur (Ref. AR2004-
2005)
| Treatment N P K S (Kg/ha) | Plant height | Base diameter | Green wt with leave | Green wt without leave | Fibre wt. t/ha | Stick wt t/ha |
| 0 0 0 0 | 2.26 | 13.15 | 17.14 | 13.96 | 1.0 | 3.51 |
| 90 10 0 20 | 2.33 | 13.88 | 29.40 | 16.70 | 2.14 | 3.22 |
| 90 10 20 20 | 2.33 | 14.92 | 24.40 | 13.55 | 2.40 | 4.00 |
| 90 10 40 20 | 2.56 | 15.60 | 29.48 | 17.66 | 2.44 | 3.81 |
| 90 10 60 20 | 2.27 | 14.33 | 23.85 | 13.37 | 2.18 | 3.22 |
| 90 10 80 20 | 2.41 | 14.96 | 34.18 | 20.29 | 2.37 | 3.70 |
| LSD 0.05 | 0.16 | 0.87 | 4.96 | 3.26 | 0.28 | 0.67 |
