Improving potassium (K) retention in acidic soil by amending muriate of potash fertilizer with zeolite

Potassium (K) is an essential macronutrient for plants that participate in many pin siological processes. Potassium is easily lost during the leaching process and very likely to be leached out and therefore run off from the soil system. In addition, the leaching of K fertilizer also occurs in acid soils. Infiltration into the soil results in low replenishment and high K loss, which indicates a general deficiency in densely populated areas. Most of K is mobile in soils and mostly lost from the soil by leaching, affecting the efficiency of the fertilizers applied. The aim of this project was to (1) Sample and characterize selected physicochemical properties of soil sample to be used in laboratory leaching of K study (2) To characterize the selected chemical properties of zeolite (3) To determine the effects of amending MOP with zeolite at different rates on K retention in soil and selected chemical properties of soil. The zeolite that was used in this study was in powder form. A leaching experiment to assess the effect of K fertilizer amended with different rates of zeolite on the K leaching and retention in soil was carried out for 30 days. Leachate was collected every 3 days and analysed for K content. Soil samples were collected after the leaching study stopped to determine the amount of K retained in the soil after leaching. Treatments with zeolite were able to reduce the K leaching from the soil. Application rate of 20t/ha zeolite was found to provide the best retention of K in the soil. The treatments with zeolite application also improved the soil pH to near neutral. This indicates the potential of zeolite application in amending the soil chemical properties.