Portal de Suelos de la FAO

Frontiers of potassium

Potassium in Sustainable Intensification of Cropping Systems 
  • How do potassium inputs and outputs compare for different cropping systems and geopolitical boundaries? 
  • How and to what extent does potassium affect use efficiency of water, energy, and other nutrients? 
  • How and to what extent does potassium mitigate biotic and abiotic stresses on plants? 
  • What conditions favor loss of bioavailable potassium and how much is lost? 
  • What can long-term research experiments teach us about potassium management? 
  • What are the current, key issues in human and animal potassium nutrition? 
4R Source: Improving decisions about the source of potassium to apply 
  • What are the lifetimes of the various global reserves of potassium? 
  • How are crops impacted (positively/negatively) by the choice of potassium source? 
  • How does the source of potassium fertilizer affect its proper placement in the soil? 
  • To what extent does potassium source impact plant recovery efficiency of potassium? 
4R Rate: Improving the accuracy of potassium rate recommendations 
  • How can we improve the quantification of plant-available potassium in the soil? 
  • How can we improve approaches to making potassium rate recommendations? 
  • How can cycling of potassium from crop and other organic residues be integrated into potassium rate recommendations? 
  • How closely is potassium mass balance related to soil test changes? 
  • Why and to what extent do various crops differ in their recovery efficiency of potassium?
4R Time: Improving decisions about when to apply potassium 
  • What are the genetic effects on potassium accumulation rates, partitioning, and plant metabolism? 
  • How can potassium be managed to improve the synchrony of soil supply and plant demand? 
  • What is the potassium recovery efficiency of the cropping system as a whole, considering the crops grown and when applications are made? 
4R Place: Improving potassium placement decisions 
  • What plant characteristics (rhizosphere biology and chemistry, root architecture, etc.) most influence potassium placement decisions? 
  • What soil characteristics (physical, chemical, biological) most influence potassium placement decisions? 
  • To what extent does nutrient placement impact plant recovery efficiency of potassium? 
Connecting Frontier Science to Frontier Practice 
  • How do we increase the impact of scientific findings on soil and crop management of potassium in the field? 
Date
25/01/2017
- 27 Jan 2017
Location
Rome, Italy