Studies on forms of soil potassium and their interrelationship in central and eastern Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, India.

Potassium, one of the key nutrient element required for crop growth, maintains dynamic equilibrium in the soil among its various forms. A detailed soil K characterization rather than estimation of available K is highly required to get clear picture of the availability of soil K. in the context of plant availability, potassium is considered as an elusive element, most of it elusiveness is a constituents of the amount and type of clay in the soil and the low hydration energy of K which fevours its entrapment in the inter layer space of micaceous minerals (McLean, 1978). The various forms o potassium in soil exist in equilibrium with one another and depletion of one form is replenished by other forms (Chandel et al., 1976). It is well known that different forms of potassium in soil system exist in dynamic equilibrium with each other. The removal of exchangeable K lead to release of the non exchangeable fraction but in certain situation, the release rate may be insufficient to meet crop needs. Therefore, an attempt has been made to study the different forms of potassium in soil and their inter relationship in Central and Eastern Vidarbha region of Maharashtra.