Gheorghe Ciobanu

Potassium Effects on Wheat Yield and Quality in Long-Term Experiments on Luvisol in Romania

Wheat needs a substantial amount of potassium for optimal growth; adequate fertilization improves the efficiency of photosynthesis, water-use efficiency and resistance to disease. In Romania, potassium fertilizers have been less used and less well researched than nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers. We discuss the effect of potassium on wheat yield and quality in a long-term field experiment on Haplic luvisol at the Agricultural and Development Research Station at Oradea, Romania. Four levels of potassium were applied on four nitrogen/phosphate backgrounds. Under these conditions, wheat yield and quality are maximized by balanced fertilization with optimum potassium management; different levels of potassium produced significant variation in wheat yield, protein and gluten content; the best performance was achieved with 80 kgK/ha.