A laboratory study was conducted to determine the Potassium (K) adsorption characteristics of four soils under
potato-maize cultivation system in Punjab. Potassium adsorption isotherms were constructed by equilibrating 2.5
g soil samples with 11 levels of K (0-250 mg L-1) as KH2PO4 in 25 ml of 0.01 M CaCl2 solutions. Sorption time of
the samples varied from 2 to 36 hours.Adsorption data were fitted to Freundlich, Langmuir and Temkin adsorption
equations. Loam, sandy clay loam and silt loam soils arrived at equilibrium after 12 hours while clay loam soil
reached in steady state after 18 hours of equilibrium period. On an average amount of K adsorbed ranged from
30.10 to 37.67 % of added K. Freundlich equation explained K adsorption behavior better than the other two
equations as evidenced by higher correlation coefficient values ranging from 0.95 to 0.99. All the four soils with
almost similar clay contents differed in their adsorption characteristics.
Abdul Hannan, A.M. Ranjha, Rahmatullah, M. Waqas, Abid Niaz. (2007) Potassium Adsorption Characteristics Of Four Different Textured Alkaline Calcareous Soils , , Volume-44, Issue-2.
