Response of Aloe vera to potassium fertilization in relation to leaf biomass yield, its uptake and requirement, critical concentration and use efficiency

Abstract

Increasing crop yield and fertilizer use efficiency with optimum potassium (K) addition is essential for sustainable crop production. With the aim of establishing a scientific basis of K fertilization on the growth, leaf biomass yield, K requirement, K use efficiency, and critical leaf K concentration of Aloe vera, a pot experiment was carried out at farmer’s field with six levels of K viz. 0, 40, 60, 80, 120, and 160 kg ha⁻¹ following completely randomized design. Yield attributes and leaf yield were significantly influenced by K application rate and the best results were obtained from the application of 120 kg K ha⁻¹. On an average, application of K increased leaf yield by 105% compared to control. The highest gel weight and economic profit was obtained from K₁₂₀. On the other hand, the highest leaf K concentration and uptake were found with the addition of 160 kg K ha⁻¹. The higher K uptake and yield contributed to the enhanced K use efficiency of Aloe vera. The correlation results suggest a significant contribution of K on the growth parameters and increased leaf yield as well. The calculated K requirement for 80% leaf biomass and the critical leaf K concentration were 72.5 kg ha⁻¹ and 1.29%, respectively.

Keywords:

• Aloe vera
• critical K concentration
• leaf yield
• K uptake
• K use efficiency

Conflict of interest

No conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The authors gratefully acknowledge the authority of Bangladesh Agricultural University Research System (Project No. 2017/244/BAU) for financial support of this research. We are also thankful to Mr. Ahmed Ali of Kashiganj, Tarakanda, Mymensingh for his help during experimental set up.