Potassium chloride (KCl) is commonly used in fertigation due to its high solubility and nutrient content. KCl dissolves rapidly in water, reaching 90% dissolution within 8 minutes at typical field temperatures around 10°C. This allows KCl to provide potassium (K) to plants through irrigation water more quickly and uniformly than other potassium fertilizers. While chloride can accumulate in soils with heavy use, guidelines have been established to minimize this issue through proper management. KCl is well-suited for fertigation due to its rapid dissolution kinetics and compatibility with other fertilizers applied through irrigation systems.
First lab managers’ meeting of the South-East Asia Laboratory NETwork (SEALNET 2.0) - Quality improvement in Asian soil laboratories: towards standardization and harmonization of soil analyses and their interpretation, Bogor, Indonesia, 20 - 24 November 2017.
First lab managers’ meeting of the South-East Asia Laboratory NETwork (SEALNET 2.0) - Quality improvement in Asian soil laboratories: towards standardization and harmonization of soil analyses and their interpretation, Bogor, Indonesia, 20 - 24 November 2017.
Comparative Sorption of Diatomic Oxyanions onto HDTMA-Br Modified Kaolinite Clayresearchinventy
The adsorption isotherms and kinetic models were tested on the comparative sorption of oxyanions onto hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HDTMA-Br) surfactant modified kaolinite clay also known as organo-kaolinite clay. The percentage removal of sulphate ion sorption was 40.42% and 78.13% onto MMC and BMC respectively, while chromate ion sorption was 26.72% and 58.62% onto MMC and BMC respectively. Thus, sulphate ion sorption shows better removal compared to chromate ion sorption of 33.60% and 24.97% onto MMC and BMC respectively. Langmuir and Frumkin isotherm models best described the adsorptive mechanism, hence the validity of the Langmuir-type separation factor RL (0<rl><1) was highly favourable and acceptable while the Frumkin isotherm gave the best regression correlation R2 although sulphate ion sorption responded better than the chromate ion sorption. The initial adsorption rate ‘α’ and the extent of surface coverage ‘β’ was higher on sulphate ion sorption compared to chromate ion sorption. In general the models tested predicts exothermic and chemisorption processes.
First lab managers’ meeting of the South-East Asia Laboratory NETwork (SEALNET 2.0) - Quality improvement in Asian soil laboratories: towards standardization and harmonization of soil analyses and their interpretation, Bogor, Indonesia, 20 - 24 November 2017.
Determination potassium by_ammonium_acetate_extraction_method_zahid_sau_sylhetSyed Zahid Hasan
Determination_potassium_by_ammonium_acetate_extraction_method_zahid_sau_sylhet.
Some picture and data are collected from internet. procedure is in short form so that it can understand easily.
There is no shortcut of success.
Read book first.
Deconttamination of a solution of chromiumIV by marine algae (ulva-lactuca)AM Publications
Wastewater contaminated by heavy metals remains today one of the major problems to solve in industrialized
countries. Various conventional methods are used to remove heavy metals from the existent wastewater. They are based
on chemical precipitation phenomena, ion exchanges, and adsorption or bio-sorption.
The treatment by plants (phytopurification) is a natural treatment for a variety of aquatic or semi aquatic organized and
structured artificially to maximize their holding capacity for various pollution parameters. Many studies aim to increase
the removal of heavy metals by plants to clean up wastewater. In this study we are interested in the ability of the algae
"ulva-lactuca" to eliminate the chromium (Cr) from a previously prepared solution and the factors that may influence
the absorption [1,2,3].
The parameters studied were pH, mass, contact time between polluted water and algae (biomass and its impact on the
bio-sorption also other physico-chemical parameters).The results show the bio-sorption percentage R% = 84 % is
observed at pH = 5 and m = 4g amount of living biomass, and the elimination percentage of Cr is equal to 96% at pH =
5, m = 1g and C0 = 38.32 mg / l and the amount adsorbed can reach 1.81 mg / g for crushed algae. These results are
consistent with those obtained with the Langmuir model.
SOIL AND ITS UTILIZATION IN AGRICULTURE
THEME 4.0: SOIL AND ITS UTILIZATION IN AGRICULTURE
Soil fertility: is the capacity/ability of the soil to supply the plant nutrients required by the crop plants in available and balanced forms. Or it is the capacity of soil to produce crops of economic value to man and maintain the health of the soil for future use.
The soil is said to be fertile when it contains all the required nutrients in the right proportion for luxuriant plant growth. Plants like animals and human beings require food for growth and development. This food is composed of certain chemical elements often referred to as plant nutrients or plant food elements. These nutrients are obtained from soil through roots.
Plants need 16 elements for their growth and completion of life cycle. In addition to these, 4 more elements viz. sodium, vanadium, cobalt and silicon are absorbed by some plants for special purposes.
Classification and source of nutrients:
Potassium is an essential plant nutrient and is required in large amounts for proper growth and reproduction of plants. It affects the plant shape, size, color, taste and other measurements attributed to healthy produce.
Comparative Sorption of Diatomic Oxyanions onto HDTMA-Br Modified Kaolinite Clayresearchinventy
The adsorption isotherms and kinetic models were tested on the comparative sorption of oxyanions onto hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HDTMA-Br) surfactant modified kaolinite clay also known as organo-kaolinite clay. The percentage removal of sulphate ion sorption was 40.42% and 78.13% onto MMC and BMC respectively, while chromate ion sorption was 26.72% and 58.62% onto MMC and BMC respectively. Thus, sulphate ion sorption shows better removal compared to chromate ion sorption of 33.60% and 24.97% onto MMC and BMC respectively. Langmuir and Frumkin isotherm models best described the adsorptive mechanism, hence the validity of the Langmuir-type separation factor RL (0<rl><1) was highly favourable and acceptable while the Frumkin isotherm gave the best regression correlation R2 although sulphate ion sorption responded better than the chromate ion sorption. The initial adsorption rate ‘α’ and the extent of surface coverage ‘β’ was higher on sulphate ion sorption compared to chromate ion sorption. In general the models tested predicts exothermic and chemisorption processes.
First lab managers’ meeting of the South-East Asia Laboratory NETwork (SEALNET 2.0) - Quality improvement in Asian soil laboratories: towards standardization and harmonization of soil analyses and their interpretation, Bogor, Indonesia, 20 - 24 November 2017.
Determination potassium by_ammonium_acetate_extraction_method_zahid_sau_sylhetSyed Zahid Hasan
Determination_potassium_by_ammonium_acetate_extraction_method_zahid_sau_sylhet.
Some picture and data are collected from internet. procedure is in short form so that it can understand easily.
There is no shortcut of success.
Read book first.
Deconttamination of a solution of chromiumIV by marine algae (ulva-lactuca)AM Publications
Wastewater contaminated by heavy metals remains today one of the major problems to solve in industrialized
countries. Various conventional methods are used to remove heavy metals from the existent wastewater. They are based
on chemical precipitation phenomena, ion exchanges, and adsorption or bio-sorption.
The treatment by plants (phytopurification) is a natural treatment for a variety of aquatic or semi aquatic organized and
structured artificially to maximize their holding capacity for various pollution parameters. Many studies aim to increase
the removal of heavy metals by plants to clean up wastewater. In this study we are interested in the ability of the algae
"ulva-lactuca" to eliminate the chromium (Cr) from a previously prepared solution and the factors that may influence
the absorption [1,2,3].
The parameters studied were pH, mass, contact time between polluted water and algae (biomass and its impact on the
bio-sorption also other physico-chemical parameters).The results show the bio-sorption percentage R% = 84 % is
observed at pH = 5 and m = 4g amount of living biomass, and the elimination percentage of Cr is equal to 96% at pH =
5, m = 1g and C0 = 38.32 mg / l and the amount adsorbed can reach 1.81 mg / g for crushed algae. These results are
consistent with those obtained with the Langmuir model.
SOIL AND ITS UTILIZATION IN AGRICULTURE
THEME 4.0: SOIL AND ITS UTILIZATION IN AGRICULTURE
Soil fertility: is the capacity/ability of the soil to supply the plant nutrients required by the crop plants in available and balanced forms. Or it is the capacity of soil to produce crops of economic value to man and maintain the health of the soil for future use.
The soil is said to be fertile when it contains all the required nutrients in the right proportion for luxuriant plant growth. Plants like animals and human beings require food for growth and development. This food is composed of certain chemical elements often referred to as plant nutrients or plant food elements. These nutrients are obtained from soil through roots.
Plants need 16 elements for their growth and completion of life cycle. In addition to these, 4 more elements viz. sodium, vanadium, cobalt and silicon are absorbed by some plants for special purposes.
Classification and source of nutrients:
Potassium is an essential plant nutrient and is required in large amounts for proper growth and reproduction of plants. It affects the plant shape, size, color, taste and other measurements attributed to healthy produce.
Potassium- Forms,Equilibrium in soils and its agricultural significance ,mech...Vaishali Sharma
The slide is conserned with the potassium fertilisers apllied in the soils. When the fertiliser applied in higher amount then it is avail in different form for plant uptake and there exist a equilibrium in soils and it has many agricultural significance and the slide also deal with brief on the mechanism of potassium fixation in the soil.
Physico-Chemical Analysis of Soil of Phaltan Tahsil In Satara District From M...inventionjournals
Soil is natural body of mineral and organic material. It serves as more reliable index for productivity. In the present study, ten samples are collected from different places of Phaltan Tahasil and physico-chemical parameters like pH, electrical conductance, organic carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium were analyzed in the month of January 2017. pH indicates that almost all the sample soil are alkaline. The concentration of organic carbon and nitrogen are below the moderate limit. While concentration of phosphorous and potassium is found to be moderate and greater than moderate limit.
Hydrochemical Characteristics and Shallow Groundwater Quality in Kirkuk Urban...Agriculture Journal IJOEAR
Abstract— The assessment of hydrochemical characteristics and shallow groundwater quality was carried out in Kirkuk urban area, Iraq. Twenty two water samples were collected systematically at 20 locations for each of high and low water seasons in April and September (2014) and analysed for physical and chemical parameters. Hydrochmical data suggest that contamination of ground water is caused by infiltration of surface water polluted by domestic seepage pits and leakage from local agricultural area. Depending on hydrochemical facies, the type of water that predominates in the urban area is Ca-Mg-SO4 type during both wet and dry seasons. The study found that Kirkuk shallow groundwater is unsuitable for drinking water and industries purposes but some of water samples are suitable for construction and irrigation purposes.
International Journal of Engineering and Science Invention (IJESI)inventionjournals
International Journal of Engineering and Science Invention (IJESI) is an international journal intended for professionals and researchers in all fields of computer science and electronics. IJESI publishes research articles and reviews within the whole field Engineering Science and Technology, new teaching methods, assessment, validation and the impact of new technologies and it will continue to provide information on the latest trends and developments in this ever-expanding subject. The publications of papers are selected through double peer reviewed to ensure originality, relevance, and readability. The articles published in our journal can be accessed online.
talking about the soil chemical properties and its objectives ,parts and etc .it also includes soil chemistry,buffer soil,acid soil,properties of acid soil,chemical composition and so on
ORGANIC MATTER AND ITS DECOMPOSITION.pptxVanangamudiK1
ORGANIC MATTER AND ITS DECOMPOSITION
Organic matter
Composition of organic residues
Organic matter classification
Decomposition of soil organic matter
C: N ratio
Role of organic matter
Factors affecting soil organic matter
Factors affecting organic matter decomposition
THE IMPORTANCE OF MARTIAN ATMOSPHERE SAMPLE RETURN.Sérgio Sacani
The return of a sample of near-surface atmosphere from Mars would facilitate answers to several first-order science questions surrounding the formation and evolution of the planet. One of the important aspects of terrestrial planet formation in general is the role that primary atmospheres played in influencing the chemistry and structure of the planets and their antecedents. Studies of the martian atmosphere can be used to investigate the role of a primary atmosphere in its history. Atmosphere samples would also inform our understanding of the near-surface chemistry of the planet, and ultimately the prospects for life. High-precision isotopic analyses of constituent gases are needed to address these questions, requiring that the analyses are made on returned samples rather than in situ.
Seminar of U.V. Spectroscopy by SAMIR PANDASAMIR PANDA
Spectroscopy is a branch of science dealing the study of interaction of electromagnetic radiation with matter.
Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy refers to absorption spectroscopy or reflect spectroscopy in the UV-VIS spectral region.
Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy is an analytical method that can measure the amount of light received by the analyte.
A brief information about the SCOP protein database used in bioinformatics.
The Structural Classification of Proteins (SCOP) database is a comprehensive and authoritative resource for the structural and evolutionary relationships of proteins. It provides a detailed and curated classification of protein structures, grouping them into families, superfamilies, and folds based on their structural and sequence similarities.
Slide 1: Title Slide
Extrachromosomal Inheritance
Slide 2: Introduction to Extrachromosomal Inheritance
Definition: Extrachromosomal inheritance refers to the transmission of genetic material that is not found within the nucleus.
Key Components: Involves genes located in mitochondria, chloroplasts, and plasmids.
Slide 3: Mitochondrial Inheritance
Mitochondria: Organelles responsible for energy production.
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA): Circular DNA molecule found in mitochondria.
Inheritance Pattern: Maternally inherited, meaning it is passed from mothers to all their offspring.
Diseases: Examples include Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) and mitochondrial myopathy.
Slide 4: Chloroplast Inheritance
Chloroplasts: Organelles responsible for photosynthesis in plants.
Chloroplast DNA (cpDNA): Circular DNA molecule found in chloroplasts.
Inheritance Pattern: Often maternally inherited in most plants, but can vary in some species.
Examples: Variegation in plants, where leaf color patterns are determined by chloroplast DNA.
Slide 5: Plasmid Inheritance
Plasmids: Small, circular DNA molecules found in bacteria and some eukaryotes.
Features: Can carry antibiotic resistance genes and can be transferred between cells through processes like conjugation.
Significance: Important in biotechnology for gene cloning and genetic engineering.
Slide 6: Mechanisms of Extrachromosomal Inheritance
Non-Mendelian Patterns: Do not follow Mendel’s laws of inheritance.
Cytoplasmic Segregation: During cell division, organelles like mitochondria and chloroplasts are randomly distributed to daughter cells.
Heteroplasmy: Presence of more than one type of organellar genome within a cell, leading to variation in expression.
Slide 7: Examples of Extrachromosomal Inheritance
Four O’clock Plant (Mirabilis jalapa): Shows variegated leaves due to different cpDNA in leaf cells.
Petite Mutants in Yeast: Result from mutations in mitochondrial DNA affecting respiration.
Slide 8: Importance of Extrachromosomal Inheritance
Evolution: Provides insight into the evolution of eukaryotic cells.
Medicine: Understanding mitochondrial inheritance helps in diagnosing and treating mitochondrial diseases.
Agriculture: Chloroplast inheritance can be used in plant breeding and genetic modification.
Slide 9: Recent Research and Advances
Gene Editing: Techniques like CRISPR-Cas9 are being used to edit mitochondrial and chloroplast DNA.
Therapies: Development of mitochondrial replacement therapy (MRT) for preventing mitochondrial diseases.
Slide 10: Conclusion
Summary: Extrachromosomal inheritance involves the transmission of genetic material outside the nucleus and plays a crucial role in genetics, medicine, and biotechnology.
Future Directions: Continued research and technological advancements hold promise for new treatments and applications.
Slide 11: Questions and Discussion
Invite Audience: Open the floor for any questions or further discussion on the topic.
The increased availability of biomedical data, particularly in the public domain, offers the opportunity to better understand human health and to develop effective therapeutics for a wide range of unmet medical needs. However, data scientists remain stymied by the fact that data remain hard to find and to productively reuse because data and their metadata i) are wholly inaccessible, ii) are in non-standard or incompatible representations, iii) do not conform to community standards, and iv) have unclear or highly restricted terms and conditions that preclude legitimate reuse. These limitations require a rethink on data can be made machine and AI-ready - the key motivation behind the FAIR Guiding Principles. Concurrently, while recent efforts have explored the use of deep learning to fuse disparate data into predictive models for a wide range of biomedical applications, these models often fail even when the correct answer is already known, and fail to explain individual predictions in terms that data scientists can appreciate. These limitations suggest that new methods to produce practical artificial intelligence are still needed.
In this talk, I will discuss our work in (1) building an integrative knowledge infrastructure to prepare FAIR and "AI-ready" data and services along with (2) neurosymbolic AI methods to improve the quality of predictions and to generate plausible explanations. Attention is given to standards, platforms, and methods to wrangle knowledge into simple, but effective semantic and latent representations, and to make these available into standards-compliant and discoverable interfaces that can be used in model building, validation, and explanation. Our work, and those of others in the field, creates a baseline for building trustworthy and easy to deploy AI models in biomedicine.
Bio
Dr. Michel Dumontier is the Distinguished Professor of Data Science at Maastricht University, founder and executive director of the Institute of Data Science, and co-founder of the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) data principles. His research explores socio-technological approaches for responsible discovery science, which includes collaborative multi-modal knowledge graphs, privacy-preserving distributed data mining, and AI methods for drug discovery and personalized medicine. His work is supported through the Dutch National Research Agenda, the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research, Horizon Europe, the European Open Science Cloud, the US National Institutes of Health, and a Marie-Curie Innovative Training Network. He is the editor-in-chief for the journal Data Science and is internationally recognized for his contributions in bioinformatics, biomedical informatics, and semantic technologies including ontologies and linked data.
1. Potassium chloride in fertigation
H. Magen (1)
(1) ICL Fertilizers
Paper presented at the 7th International Conference on Water and Irrigation,
13-16 May, Tel Aviv, Israel
Abstract
The rapid proliferation of fertigation in modern agriculture has brought about a growing demand for
factory mixed fertilizer solutions, as well as wide-scale dissolution of solid fertilizers by farmers in the field.
Rules of chemistry and physics control the rate of dissolution and, hence, the nutrient content in the
fertilizer solution. Potassium chloride (KCl) is the cheapest potassium-containing fertilizer. Data concerning
the dissolution of potassium chloride and other potassium sources are presented below.
Introduction
Fertigation is the application of solid or liquid mineral fertilizers via pressurized irrigation systems, creating
nutrient-containing irrigation water. Although the practice of commercial fertigation started only in the mid - 20th
century, there is evidence that the concept of irrigation with dissolved nutrients in water was well known in the
past. The first reported example dates back to ancient Athens (400 BC) where city sewage was used to irrigate tree
groves (Young and Hargett, 1984).
One of the major factors in promoting modern fertigation was the development of micro-irrigation systems (MIS)
such as drip irrigation, jets and micro-sprinklers. Field experiments in Israel in the early 1960s showed that when
localized sections of a field are irrigated, as in MIS, standard broadcasting of fertilizers is ineffective. The limited
root zone and the reduced level of mineralization in the restricted wetted zone are the main reasons for the reduced
nutrient availability to the plant. When this was recognized, fertigation was integrated in almost all MIS.
Israel is an unmatched example of the use of fertilizers by fertigation. The Israeli farmer uses an average of 100, 55
and 75 kg/ha/y of N, P2O5 and K2O, respectively. Over 50% of the N and P2O5 is applied by fertigation. Of the
33,000 tons used annually, approximately 10,000 tons are applied as clear liquid N-P-K, N-K or P-K solutions or
soluble complex fertilizers, and another 5,000-10,000 tons are applied as solid KCl dissolved in the field.
Fertigation is by far the most common, and in some cases the only, method of fertilizing in greenhouses, orchards,
vegetables and drip irrigated field crops such as cotton, maize, jujube, etc.
Various sources have shown the advantage of applying K through irrigation water. Potassium ions are adsorbed at
the cation exchange sites of soil colloids, but it was shown that lateral and downward mobility of potassium occur
1
2. when applied via drip irrigation (Goode et al. 1978; Kafkafi and Bar-Yosef 1980). Haynes (1985) showed that the
distribution of potassium was more uniform than that of either nitrate or phosphate.
Preplanting fertilizer application usually include 15-25% of the recommended N, 20-30% of the recommended K
and 100% of the recommended P, Ca, Mg and micro-elements (Sanders 1991). Further nitrogen and potassium is
given by fertigation during the growing period to complete the plant requirements.
Potassium is applied through fertigation by using various sources of K salts such as potassium chloride (KCl),
potassium sulfate (K2SO4), potassium nitrate (KNO3) and mono-potassium phosphate (KH2PO4). Among the less
common K fertilizers are potassium carbonate (K2CO3) and potassium silicate (K-Si). The K fertilizer is chosen by
price, solubility, anion type and ease of use. This paper discusses various features of KCl fertigation.
Compatibility of Fertilizers with Fertigation
There are no standards regarding fertigation fertilizers currently in force, therefore, the following are suggested:
complete solubility (< 0.2% insolubles in water), high nutrient content in the saturated solution, fast dissolution in
irrigation water, insolubles of non-clogging mineral and bacterial type only, no chemical interactions between the
fertilizer and irrigation water, and absence of undesired anions
Solubility of K fertilizers. Solubility is defined as the amount of salt (grams) per volume (liter). Potassium chloride
(KCl) is the most soluble potassium fertilizer up to a temperature of about 20°C (fig. 1); at higher temperatures
potassium nitrate (KNO3) is more soluble. Both salts have an endothermic reaction when dissolved (the solution
cools as the fertilizer dissolves). This phenomenon limits the solubility of KNO3 more than that of KCl. The
solubility of fertilizers is reduced when two or three fertilizers are mixed together. The maximum concentration
can be determined by using triangular diagrams, from which any ratio can be calculated for a given temperature
(Wolf et al. 1985).
KNO3
KCl
KH2PO4
K2SO4
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
0
100
200
300
400
500
Temp (°C)
Solubility (gr. / liter)
Fig. 1: Solubility of various K fertilizers at different temperatures.
2
3. Nutrient content of K fertilizers. Nutrient content is defined as the value received by multiplying solubility times
the percentage of the nutrient in the fertilizer. KCl yields the highest nutrient content at 10°C (fig. 2), achieving a
concentration of 15% K2O, compared to only 8% with KNO3, and even less with K2SO4 and KH2PO4.
Fast dissolution. This parameter is important when considering industrial dissolution processes dissolution at
field level for the calculation of irrigation timing and intervals. Elam et al. (1995) showed the difference between
KCl, KNO3 and K2SO4 dissolution rates and the change in temperature after dissolving the fertilizers (fig. 3). The
graph shows that the dissolution time (t90, the time needed to dissolve 90% of the salt added, in minutes) of KCl is
much shorter and the K2O content is much higher, about 13% for KCl in 8 minutes, as compared to 4% for K2SO4
in 25.2 min. and 9% for KNO3 in 15.6 min.
%ofplantfood(K2O;anion)MOP KNO3 MKP SOP
0
150
300
450
600
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
Solubility(gr./l)
Solubility
K2O (%)
Anion (%)
Fig. 2: Solubility and nutrient concentration at saturation of K fertilizers at 10°C (50°F); MOP = muriate of potash
(KCl), MKP = mono-potassium phosphate (KH2PO4), SOP = sulfate of potash (K2SO4).
Insolubles of non-clogging type
KCl is marketed either as white or red MOP (muriate of potash). The source of the red color is the presence of
insoluble (in water) Fe-Oxide compounds in the material. When dissolving red potash, It is clearly seen that the
saturated solution contains a red colored fraction of insoluble material, thus raising the question of its ability to be
applied through fertigation
Chemical interactions between the fertilizer and irrigation water
The formation of precipitates in irrigation water due to the addition of fertilizer, is one of the most common
problems farmers encounter at field level. The most common precipitates are Ca-P compounds at pH>7.0, when P
fertilizers are added. Fertilizing with K and N fertilizers are limited when irrigation water contain high
concentration of Ca and or SO4. At such conditions, salting out of K2SO4, CaSO4 and NH4SO4 occur. Since
chloride salts are highly soluble, precipitation of its salts practically does not exist in such systems.
A more accurate method of predicting precipitation under various conditions of pH, and concentrations of Ca, Mg,
Fe and PO4 is by the use of the computer program GEOCHEM-PC (Parker et al., 1995). The program can predict
the precipitation of any salts in irrigation water, and thus plays an important role in fertigation management.
3
4. Laboratory experiments with nutrient solutions showed a good correlation between the program’s predictions and
the actual results (Magen, 1995).
0 10 20 30 40 50
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
2
4
6
8
10
12
Time (min)
FractionDissolved
Temperature(C)
KCl
K2SO4
KNO3
at equilibrium KCl K2SO4 KNO3
% K2O 12.9 4.3 9.0
t 90 8.0 25.2 15.6
% Salt 20.4 8.0 19.2
Fig. 3: Dissolution kinetics (full points) and change in temperature (hollow points) when dissolving K fertilizers
(80% saturation, 20°C, 100 rpm).
Presence of undesired anions
Table 1 shows types of anions and their relative consumption by plants.
Table 1: Cations and anions from different K fertilizers and their uptake by plants
Fertilizer Cation Anion Anion absorbed by
plants as .... nutrient
KCl K+ Cl-
secondary
K2SO4 K+ SO4
-2
secondary
KNO3 K+ NO3
-
macro
KH2PO4 K+ H2PO4
-
macro
Chloride is consumed by plants at low quantities, therefore, under heavy fertilization with Cl containing fertilizers
and sub-optimal leaching conditions, it will accumulate and create salinity problems. Specific guidelines and
tolerance levels were assessed (Maas, 1986), enabling research and farmers to monitor and adopt proper
management to minimize this problem.
4
5. Prepared liquid fertilizers
Clear liquid fertilizers used for fertigation include urea, ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulfate, either individually
or in combination as the N source, orthophosphate as the P2O5 source and KCl, K2SO4 and KH2PO4 as the K2O
sources. By mixing two or three different nutrients, the solubility of each nutrient declines (table 2).
Table 2 presents some of the characteristics of selected liquid fertilizers of industrial preparation.
Under field conditions, mixing and heating are limited, resulting in a much lower nutrient content. An experiment
describing the maximal nutrient content in field prepared solution, was conducted in our laboratory, in order to
develop a simple mixing tables for the end user. At the present work, we have examined the preparation of KCl
solutions with minimal stirring, at a controlled temperature of 10°C.
Different amounts of fertilizer grade potassium chloride (61% K2O) (4%, 6%, 7%, and 10% K2O concentration
w/w) were added to 100 ml of tap water at 10°C in a vessel jacketed with cooling liquifd at 10°C. After addition of
the fertilizer the solution was stirred for one minute and the stirring then stopped. The temperature change with
time was recorded as well as the time to reach complete dissolution.
The temperature changes with time for four different amounts of KCl is shown in table 3. For the first three
additions clear solutions were obtained after 5-8 minutes. The fourth addition, 10% K2O, did not dissolve
completly even after one hour, although the temperature had returned to 10°C after 17 minutes.
Table 2: Selection of various formulas of liquid fertilizers (source: Sne, Ministry of Agriculture. Israel, 1989).
Fertilizers Formula Salting out
Temperature (C°)
pH
(1:1000)
NH4NO3+H3PO4+KCl 19-5-0 6 0.0
7-7-7 15 3.1
4-0-12 5 4.5
Urea+NH4NO3+ H3PO4+KCl 0-10-10 5 0.3
8-8-8 13 0.6
8-0-12 12 7.6
NH4NO3+H3PO4+KNO3 7-0-7 14 3.5
6-6-6 3 3.5
3-0-9 12 3.5
5
6. Table 3: Temperature change with time to reach clear K solution
Time
(minutes)
4% K2O 6% K2O 7% K2O 10% K2O
Temp (C)
0 10 10 10 10
0.5 7 6 5 2
1 8 6 5 3
2 8 7 6 5
3 8 8 7 6
4 8 8 8 6
5 9# 8 8 6
6 9 8# 8 7
7 9 8 9 8
8 9 9 9# 8
9 9 9 9 8
10 10 9 9 8
15 10 10 10 9
17 10##
# - clear solution
## - undissolved material present after one hour
On the basis of these results, the most concentrated solution of KCl that can be prepared in simiulated field
conditions, at 10°C with minimal stirring, is 0-0-7, and this will take approximately 8 minutes to reach full
dissolution.
Conclusion
KCl was compared with other K fertilizers regarding their suitability to fertigation. The chemical characteristics
of KCl were discussed and assessed. KCl’s high nutrient percentage in saturated solution, as well as its rapid
dissolution and compatibility with other fertilizers applied in stock solutions, makes it ideal for fertigation use.
In some cases, monitoring of Cl-
content in soil and plant is recomended to eliminate its accumulation.
Acknowledgments
Thanks are due to Dr. M. Lupin, IMI (TAMI) Institute for research & Development Ltd., who conducted and
summarized the KCl dissolution at field conditions experiment.
6
7. 7
References
Agronomic Update, 1990. Fertilizer Int. 286:40-41.
Elam, M., Ben Ari, S. and H. Magen. 1995. The dissolution of different types of potassium fertilizers suitable for
fertigation. A paper presented in Dhalia Greidinger International Symposium on Fertigation, Haifa, Israel
Goode, J.E., Higgs, K.H. and K.J. Hyrycz. 1978. Trickle irrigation and fertilization of tomatoes in highly
calcareous soils. J.Bester Hort. Sci. 53, 307-316.
Haynes, R.J. 1985. Principles of fertilizer use for trickle irrigated crops. Fertilizer Research. 6:235-255.
Kafkafi, U., and B. Bar-Yosef. 1980. Trickle irrigation and fertilization of tomatoes in highly calcareous soils.
Agron. J. 72, 893-897.
Maas, E. V. 1986. Salt tolerance of plants. Applied Agric. Res. 1:12-26. Springer Verlag.
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