Research An Asian Journal of Soil Science

Vol. 6 No. 2 (December, 2011) : 181-184

Paper Received : August, 2011; Revised : October, 2011; Accepted : November, 2011

Potassium fixation as affected by alternate wetting and drying in some soil series
of Jharkhand
SUDHIR K. JHA, AMRIT K. JHA, RAJAN K. OJHA AND RAJEEV KUMAR

SUMMARY
The effect of alternate wetting and drying, application of different concentrations of K and effect of different period of incubation
on potassium fixation capacity in soils of five dominant soil series of Jharkhand were evaluated. The fixation of K increased
significantly due to alternate wetting and drying up to 10 cycles only and after that the increase in magnitude of K fixation was not
considerable in all soils of these series. The amount of fixed K increased with increasing levels of added K up to 20 mg per 100 g soil
level and there after, it attained a plateau. The incubation study indicated that K fixation increased with time of incubation (1, 3, 5,
7, 9 and 11 days), increase being high up to 3 days in all soils of these series.

Jha, Sudhir K., Jha, Amrit K., Ojha, Rajan K. and Kumar Rajeev (2011). Potassium fixation as affected by alternate wetting and drying in
some soil series of Jharkhand. Asian J. Soil Sci., 6(2): 181-184.

KEY WORDS : Potassium fixation, Wetting and drying, Incubation periods

S oil available K status has been found to range from

low to high (Srinivas Rao et al., 2001). Despite wide
variation in available K status of Jharkhand, its application
is negligible even in deficient soils. In addition to this,
soils of Jharkhand are acidic; do not receive any attention
towards K application. A knowledge of potassium fixation
capacity of soils helps to predict crop response to applied
potassium. Therefore, the potassium fixing capacity of
soil is one of the factors which regulate K release for
uptake of plant. When soluble potassium fertilizers are
added to soil, the existing potassium equilibrium is
disturbed and soluble K is converted into fixed form, the
first step being the entry of potassium to the exchange
sites. In this context alternate wetting and drying
considerably influences potassium dynamics in soil.
Wetting and drying of soils contributes markedly to the
fixation of potassium under field condition at least in the
tropical climate where there is a distinct dry and wet
season over prolonged period. Incr ease in the
concentration of potassium in soil solution, equilibrium
shifted towards less easily reversible form resulting in
increased fixation of potassium (Shaviv et al., 1985).
Fixation of potassium in soil is also governed by the time
of contact. No organized and systematized research work
relating to these aspects of potassium fixation have been
carried out in soils of Jharkhand region. Hence, present
investigation was ventured to investigate the extent of K
fixation and the related parameters affecting the K fixation
in the five dominant soil series of this region.
EXPERIMENTAL METHODS
Six surface soil samples (0-15 cm depth) were
collected from each five soil series under Ranchi (Debatoli
and Puto), Singhbhum (Jorsol-2) and Dumka (Karya and
Pusaro) districts Jharkhand. Some important physical and
chemical properties and different forms of K of the soil
were determined by conventional analysis and presented
in Table A (Piper, 1966 and Jackson, 1973). Potassium
fixation capacities of soils were determined as per method
suggested by Ramanathan and Krishnamoorthy (1978).
Fixation due to alternate wetting and drying (number of
cycles taken 5, 10, 15 and 20) was studied in accordance
with the method suggested by Volk (1934). Potassium
fixation in soils as affected by varying concentrations (10,
15, 20, 25 and 30 mg K per 100 g soil as KCl solution)
and at different incubation periods (1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11

Address of the corresponding author :

RAJAN K. OJHA, Department of Agricultural Physics and Meteology, R.A.C., Birsa Agricultural University, RANCHI (JHARKHAND) INDIA
Email : rajanojha@gmail.com

Address of the co-authors :

SUDHIR K. JHA, AMRIT K. JHA AND RAJEEV KUMAR, Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Birsa Agricultural University,
RANCHI (JHARKHAND) INDIA

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· ·
 SUDHIR K. JHA, AMRIT K. JHA, RAJAN K. OJHA AND RAJEEV KUMAR

Table A : Some important physical and chemical properties of soil samples from different series
pH Org. C CEC Exch. Ca Exch. Mg Sand Silt Clay Textural class
Soil series (g kg-1) (%) (%) (%)
Cmol(p+)kg-1
Debatoli Range 5.1 – 5.8 4.2 – 7.8 6.9 – 9.2 3.0 – 4.7 0.68 – 1.21 63 – 67 20 – 22 13 – 15 Sandy loam
(6) Mean 5.5 5.8 7.8 3.7 0.91 66 21 13
Jorsol – 2 Range 5.1 – 6.0 2.2 – 3.9 7.1 – 10.2 3.1 – 5.3 0.8 – 1.5 29 – 57 26 – 50 9 – 45 Loam
(6) Mean 5.5 3.1 8.3 3.7 1.0 42 41 17
Puto Range 5.6 – 6.1 4.0 – 7.0 8.5 – 12.1 3.9 – 5.9 1.0 – 1.8 30 – 41 26 – 36 31 – 38 Clay loam
(6) Mean 5.9 5.1 10.4 5.1 1.4 35 30 35
Karya Range 4.5 – 6.1 1.9 – 4.5 6.8 – 8.5 2.9 – 4.1 0.7 – 1.3 37 – 72 10 – 30 18 – 34 Sandy clay
(6) Mean 5.4 3.0 7.8 3.4 0.91 55 17 28 loam
Pusaro Range 4.2 – 5.8 1.4 – 4.0 5.8 – 8.0 2.4 – 3.7 0.6 – 1.0 54 – 70 20 – 33 9 – 13 Sandy loam
(6) Mean 4.7 2.9 6.9 2.9 0.75 61 28 11

days) was studied. Incubation was carried out by the
method suggested by Verma and Verma (1970). Potassium
was applied as KCl solution to the soil at the rate of 10
mg K per 100 g soil for the alternate wetting and drying
and incubation period studies. The fixed K was calculated
employing the formula- K Fixed = (Initial Exch. K +
Added K)-(Exch. K after equilibration).
EXPERIMENTAL FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS
The results obtained from the present investigation
as well as relevant discussion have been presented under
following heads :
Effect of alternate wetting and drying:
Perusal of data in Table 1 indicated that the
percentage potassium fixation markedly increased in all
the soils of different series with an increase in number of
cycles of alternate wetting and drying. The increase in
the percentage of K fixation was, however, more
pronounced up to 10 cycles after which further increase
in number of cycles (15 and 20 cycles) could cause
relatively less increase in its fixation. Similar observations
were also reported by Sahu and Gupta (1987), who also
found that fixation of potassium increased due to the
increasing number of alternate wetting and drying cycles
until a plateau value was reached. This may be attributed
to the fact that during wetting and drying, the lattice
expands and contracts. The potassium ion may by
entrapped in the hexagonal holes between the Si2O5 layers
(r = 1.40A0) and on drying, K ions (r = 1.33A0) lose their
shell of oriented water molecules and the potassium ions
may be fixed in to the interior of the lattice.
With regard to the relative K fixing behaviour of soils
of different series under investigation, it was found that
the mean K fixation percentage was highest in soils of
Puto series (28.3 to 33.0 %) and lowest in Pusaro series
(21.8 to 27.7 %) under different cycles of alternate
wetting and drying. Higher value of pH, CEC and clay
content (Table A) of the soils of Puto series in comparison
to those of other series might have contributed to the
relatively higher K fixation of the soils. On the other hand
lower values of these parameters in soils of Pusro series
compared to other might be responsible for its lower K
fixation (Chandra Prakash and Singh, 1985).

Table 1 : Potassium fixation (%) as affected by alternate wetting and drying

K fixation capacity Number of cycles
Soil series
of soils (%) 5 10 15 20
Debatoli Range 12.43 – 20.52 18.1 – 32.1 22.1 – 34.0 22.8 – 34.6 22.9 – 34.9
(6) Mean 16.35 25.5 28.4 29.2 29.3
Jorsol – 2 Range 10.82 – 19.92 17.4 – 30.6 21.6 – 32.3 22.4 – 33.3 22.6 – 33.5
(6) Mean 15.12 23.5 26.7 27.7 27.9
Puto Range 14.73 – 22.12 22.8 – 34.1 26.8 – 38.1 27.5 – 39.1 27.7 – 39.3
(6) Mean 16.68 28.3 32.1 32.8 33.0
Karya Range 9.18 – 17.81 17.9 – 29.1 22.4 – 33.9 24.0 – 34.1 24.3 – 34.3
(6) Mean 13.59 23.1 28.0 29.9 29.9
Pusaro Range 8.62 – 16.39 16.1 – 27.5 20.6 – 32.3 22.1 – 33.6 22.4 – 33.7
(6) Mean 12.38 21.8 26.2 27.5 27.7
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182 Asian J. Soil Sci., 6 (2); (Dec., 2011)
 POTASSIUM FIXATION AS AFFECTED BY ALTERNATE WETTING & DRYING IN SOME SOIL SERIES OF JHARKHAND

Table 2 : Potassium fixation in soil as influenced by graded levels of K addition

Rate of K addition (mg per 100 g soil)
Soil series 10 15 20 25 30
Fixed K Fixation Fixed K Fixation Fixed K Fixation Fixed K Fixation Fixed K Fixation
(mg/100g) (%) (mg/100g) (%) (mg/100g) (%) (mg/100g) (%) (mg/100g) (%)
Debatoli Range 2.34-2.85 12.4-20.5 3.76-5.46 15.7-28.1 6.0-8.2 18.5-35.2 6.2-8.9 16.6-30.2 6.24-8.90 14.7-25.8
(6) Mean 2.60 16.35 4.50 21.57 7.11 26.78 7.40 23.40 7.42 20.30
Jorsol–2 Range 2.42-2.68 10.8-19.9 3.85-5.10 14.0-26.6 5.54-7.94 17.3-33.8 5.91-8.34 15.5-29.3 5.95-8.36 14.0-25.0
(6) Mean 2.51 15.12 4.31 20.0 6.43 24.21 6.75 21.4 6.77 18.48
Puto Range 3.09-3.81 14.7-22.1 6.08-7.44 21.1-34.6 8.23-10.21 25.2-39.1 8.73-10.86 22.8-33.5 8.76-10.90 20.4-28.6
(6) Mean 3.35 18.66 6.46 27.7 9.08 31.9 9.58 28.5 9.61 24.86
Karya Range 2.22-2.38 9.2-17.8 3.80-4.32 12.6-22.9 5.41-6.01 15.4-26.1 5.71-6.71 14.2-24.1 5.76-6.73 12.8-20.5
(6) Mean 2.34 13.59 4.14 18.1 5.80 20.8 6.17 18.7 6.20 16.32
Pusaro Range 2.09-2.34 8.6-16.4 3.74-4.72 13.2-24.5 6.05-6.97 17.6-28.7 6.08-7.46 16.7-25.5 6.11-7.46 14.8-21.8
(6) Mean 2.17 12.38 4.33 19.1 6.24 22.4 6.72 20.4 6.75 17.74

Effect of potassium application: change in the concentration gradient due to restricted K

The amount of fixed potassium rapidly increased with
an increase in concentration of potassium solution up to
20 mg per 100 g soil beyond which it became almost
constant in all the soil series (Table 2). However, per cent
fixation of potassium increased with increasing amount
of potassium up to 20 mg per 100 g soil and then decreased
with increasing amount of K application in soils of these
series. The maximum (31.9%) and minimum (20.8%)
increase in K fixation were observed in soils of Puto and
Keroya series, respectively when these soils were treated
with 20 mg K per 100 g soil.
The increase in K fixation with increa sing
concentration of K in soil solution up to a certain level
(20 mg per 100 g soil) might be due to the shifting of
equilibrium towards less easily reversible form because
of large proportion of K being forced in to the interlattice
position from labile pool resulting in increased fixation of
K up to that particular level and then attaining a plateau
(Shaviv et al., 1985). The stabilization in potassium fixation
in soils of these series may be attributed to insignificant
diffusion which continued until the concentration of K in
the ambient solution became sufficiently high (Chakravorti
and Patnaik, 1990). Such trend of results was also reported
by Malislamani et al. (1993) and Kundu et al. (2001).
Effect of incubation period:
It is evident from Table 3 that, among the incubation
periods (1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11 days), the K fixation generally
increased up to 11 days in soils of different series of
Jharkhand. However, the fixation increased markedly up
to 3 days beyond that the rate of increase was relatively
low and was found to decrease with an increase in
duration of incubation. This is in agreement with the
observations of Vallipan (1984) who reported similar trend
of results in the soils of Madurai district of Tamil Nadu.
The decrease in the rate of K fixation with incubation
after a certain period (3 days) is expected because due
to partial fixation, the bare surface sites goes on
decreasing resulting in lesser quantum of fixation. This is
in conformity with Malislamani et al. (1993) and Kundu,

Table 3 : Potassium fixation (%) in soils at different periods of incubation

Days of incubation
Soil series
1 3 5 7 9 11
Debatoli (6) Range 4.95 – 12.50 12.43 – 20.52 16.04 – 24.10 18.78 – 26.96 20.81 – 29.24 21.93 – 30.43
Mean 8.44 16.35 19.70 22.58 24.99 26.29
Jorsol–2 (6) Range 5.05 – 12.05 10.82 – 19.92 14.08 – 24.52 16.83 – 28.05 18.18 – 30.65 20.08 – 32.67
Mean 8.38 15.12 19.37 22.45 25.01 26.83
Puto (6) Range 5.93 – 11.50 14.73 – 22.12 19.17 – 26.76 22.11 -29.30 24.32 – 32.03 26.08 – 34.00
Mean 8.98 18.69 22.92 25.71 27.77 29.49
Karya (6) Range 5.05 – 10.21 9.18 – 17.81 12.75 – 21.30 14.83 -24.07 17.15 – 26.18 18.17 – 27.21
Mean 7.22 13.58 17.45 20.18 22.34 23.48
Pusaro (6) Range 5.01 – 10.50 8.62 – 16.39 12.05 – 20.39 14.18 – 24.10 16.15 – 26.58 17.67 – 28.03
Mean 7.63 12.37 16.28 19.21 21.42 22.93
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183 Asian J. Soil Sci., 6 (2); (Dec., 2011)
 SUDHIR K. JHA, AMRIT K. JHA, RAJAN K. OJHA AND RAJEEV KUMAR
et al. (2001).
Conclusion:
From present investigation, it can be concluded that
potassium fixation in the five dominant soil series of
Jharkhand can be significantly increased up to 10 cycles
of alternate wetting and drying. The amount of fixed
potassium rapidly increased with an increase in
concentration of potassium solution up to 20 mg per 100
g soil beyond which it became almost constant in all the
soil series. The K fixation generally increased up to 11
days in all soil series however, the fixation increased
markedly up to 3 days beyond that the rate of increase
was relatively low and was found to decrease with
increase in duration of incubation. K fixation percentage
was highest in soils of Puto series and lowest in Pusaro
series.
LITERATURE CITED
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