Abstract:
Objective The rhizosphere soil of maize was used to study the changes of potassium (K) under long-term K fertilization in order to solve the problem of K deficiency in red soil. The relationship between organic carbon (C) and K in the aggregate was also explored. It is expected to provide a theoretical basis for the rational application of K fertilizer in red soil.
Method Relying on the long-term fertilization experiment of red soil (beginning in 1986), five treatments, including unfertilized control (CK), inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus (NP), inorganic NP and potassium (NPK), double NPK (DNPK) and inorganic NPK plus manure (NPKM) were selected to determine the organic C, exchangeable K and non-exchangeable K in each aggregate component of the rhizosphere. Then the correlation between organic C and K were conducted in the aggregate component.
Result The results demonstrated that the proportion of aggregates > 2 mm was significantly lower than the proportions of 0.25-2 mm and < 0.25 mm in all treatments of maize rhizosphere soil. Among all treatments, the proportion of aggregates > 2 mm treated with NPKM was the highest, while the proportion of aggregates < 0.25 mm was significantly lower. At the same time, there was no significantly difference in the total K content of all aggregate component and all fertilization treatments. Compared with CK treatment, the content of organic C, exchangeable K and non-exchangeable potassium in aggregates > 2 mm treated with NPKM increased by 8.65%, 106.19% and 27.05%, respectively. Compared with NP treatment, the exchangeable K and non-exchangeable K content of aggregates > 2 mm in NPK treatment increased by 64.83% and 156.04%, respectively, and the increase by NPKM treatment was 11.74% and 23.47%, respectively. The correlation analysis showed that the organic C in > 2 mm aggregates had a significant positive correlation with exchangeable K and non-exchangeable K. Combining with the slope of the linear equation, it is found that when the organic C in the aggregates > 2 mm increased by 0.1 g kg−1, and the exchangeable K content increased by 5.69 mg kg−1 and 2.37 mg kg−1.
Conclusion Long-term combined application of organic and inorganic fertilizers is a key measure to increase the proportion of macro-aggregates in the rhizosphere soil of maize in the southern red soil region, and the increase of the organic C content in the soil macro-aggregates promotes exchangeable K and non-exchangeable K content, which lays a foundation for satisfying the K demand of crop roots.