Strategies for Improving Potassium Use Efficiency in Plants

Abstract

Potassium is a macronutrient that is crucial for healthy plant growth. Potassium availability, however, is often limited in agricultural fields and thus crop yields and quality are reduced. Therefore, improving the efficiency of potassium uptake and transport, as well as its utilization, in plants is important for agricultural sustainability. This review summarizes the current knowledge on the molecular mechanisms involved in potassium uptake and transport in plants, and the molecular response of plants to different levels of potassium availability. Based on this information, four strategies for improving potassium use efficiency in plants are proposed; 1) increased root volume, 2) increasing efficiency of potassium uptake from the soil and translocation in planta, 3) increasing mobility of potassium in soil, and 4) molecular breeding new varieties with greater potassium efficiency through marker assisted selection which will require identification and utilization of potassium associated quantitative trait loci.

Responses to K deficiency and waterlogging interact via respiratory and nitrogen metabolism

“…K + is involved in many physiological processes such as electrochemical homeostasis, stomatal aperture, and several enzyme activities (Anschütz, Becker, & Shabala, ; Wang & Wu, ). K deficiency is highly detrimental to plant growth and primary production by crops, and intense efforts are being devoted to improve K acquisition by plants (Rawat, Sanwal, & Saxena, ; Shin, ). K‐deficient soils are relatively common in countries of the intertropical region, such as Brazil, Equatorial Africa (wet tropical), China and South‐Eastern Asia (such as Malaysia or Indonesia), and Australia.…”

Potash Use for Sustainable Crop Production in Pakistan: A Review

“…There are several reasons for low usage and K fertilization may increase economic crop production. Several reviews already available highlights the importance of potassium uses in agriculture (Zorb et al, 2014), potassium use efficiency in different crops and genotypes (Rengel and Damon, 2008), strategies to improve potassium use efficiency (Shin, 2014), potassium transport and signaling (Wang and Wu, 2013;Luan et al, 2016), potassium homeostasis to improve biotic and abiotic stress (Anschütza et al, 2014;Luan et al, 2016) and genetic approaches to improve potassium uptake and utilization efficiency (Wang and Wu, 2015). Here in present review we discuss the significance of K fertilization, reasons for low K usage, economics of its fertilization in arable and irrigated crops, current status of K research and possible directions to enhance its application to lessen the yield gaps for sustainable crop productivity particularly in context of Pakistan.…”

Whole-plant mineral partitioning during the reproductive development of rice (Oryza sativa L.)

“…Potassium is indispensable to plant growth and contributes to the maintenance of membrane potential, ion homeostasis, and osmoregulation (Shin, 2014). It is also involved in enzyme activation, protein synthesis, photosynthesis, and stomatal movements (Luan et al, 2016).…”