Potassium Uptake and Concentration in Upland Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) As Affected By Foliar Potassium Source

In recent years, several new formulations of liquid potassium fertilizer have come to the market. Many of these products provide their potassium in different forms such as potassium thiosulfate, potassium acetate, potassium hydroxide, potassium sulfate, and others. This brought about the need for an evaluation of how quickly each of these sources are taken up and utilized by certain crops. A similar study was conducted evaluating various sources of liquid boron and their efficacy when used on a cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) crop (Guertal et al., 1998). The procedure of the potassium evaluation will be very similar to what was done by Guertal et al. (1998). At this point in time, a study like this has been conducted with liquid potassium in soybeans (Glycine max) but not yet with cotton.  With yield data showing that foliar potassium applications can generally result in a yield gain, information about which source is the most readily absorbed would be beneficial to a cotton grower’s management decisions.