Residual effect of KCL coated by polymeters incorporated in a corn crop

Abstract

The use of polymer-coated potassium fertilizers may reduce the leaching of potassium (K) in the soil, increasing the availability of this nutrient to plants for a long period. In this context, the residual effect of doses and sources of potassium chloride (KCl) application on K nutrition, production components and corn grain yield in two sequential crops were investigated in this study. The experiment was conducted in a clayey Oxisol. The experiment was arranged in a randomized complete block design with four replicates in a 4 × 4 factorial scheme: four potassium doses (0, 40, 80 and 120 kg ha–1 of K2O) and four KCl sources [uncoated fertilizer (conventional) and three sources of fertilizer coated with different polymers]. The KCl sources showed the same residual effect for most production components, leaf K content and corn grain yield in both crops. The increase of K fertilizer doses in the previous crop provided residual effect on the second-harvest corn crop, resulting in linear increase in leaf K content, weight of 100 grains and grain yield up to the dose of 77 kg ha–1, whit the use of any source of KCl.