Potassium concentration, uptake and partitioning in maize (Zea mays L.) cultivars grown in organic agriculture

The field experiment was conducted to study the potassium concentration, uptake and partitioning in different parts of 12 different maize cultivars at various growth stages. The 12 varieties of maize viz., Kanchan, Arawali, Sona-222, JM-8, JM-12, JM-216, Pratap5, Pratap-6, Proagro-4412, CPGB-4202, Popcorn-1 and Sweetcorn were grown in a randomized block design (RBD) with three replications under organic agriculture. The results showed that the concentration of K declined with crop growth in all cultivars under study. Total K uptake by leaves and stalks in different cultivars was lowest at 45 DAS and increased at 75 DAS and did not vary considerably at harvest. Among the different cultivars, Proagro-4412 and Kanchan removed maximum K. The K partitioning indicated 25, 56 and 19% of total K uptake which was concentrated in leaves, stalk and grain, respectively.