Olive tree response to potassium application under different water regimes and cultivars
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abstract
Taking into account the role of potassium in plant nutrition
it is poorly understood the lack of studies on olive tree
response to potassium application. This paper reports the
results of two field trials and two pot experiments on potassium
fertilization in olive carried out from 2013 to 2017.
The two field trials and one of the pot experiments were
classic experiments on the plant response to the nutrient
application. The second pot experiment was arranged in
a factorial design with two leveis of potassium, two water
regimes and two cultivars ('Cobrançosa' and 'Arbequina').
The application of potassium did not increase the growth
and yield of the trees although it increased the concentration
of the nutrient in the tissues. The application of
potassium increased the shoot/root ratio. The potassium
concentration in the roots was lower than in the aerial
parts for low leveis of potassium in the soil but increased
more than proportionally in the root relative to the shoot
as the availability of potassium in the soil increased. These
results seem to indicate that the shoots are a priority
sink for K and that the roots can act as a reservoir when
the soil K availability is high. lndices of plant water status
and chlorophyll a fluorescence parameters were not significantly
affected by K applications. Plants suffering from
water stress, confirmed by índices of leaf water status and
chlorophyll a fluorescence parameters, yielded less phytomass.
'Cobrançosa' appeared as a more tolerant cv. to water
stress than 'Arbequina; being the former more suitable
to be grown under rainfed conditions and probably more
adapted to climate change.
