Forms of Potassium and Q/I Relationship in the Acidic Brown Hill Soils of Simla

NH4OAc extractable soil K in 39 surface samples of acidic brown hill soils of Simla varied from 53 to 775 ppm, with an average value of 206 ppm. The mean values of fixed ana HCl soluble K were 0.23 and 0.715 per cent, respectively. NH4OAc extractable K was positively correlated with organic carbon, silt, clay and cation exchange capacity but negatively with the sand fraction of soils Fixed and HCl soluble K were positively correlated with sand and negatively with silt and day fraction. Fixed and HCl soluble K were highly correlated with each other but poorly with NH4OAc−K. Q/I relationships showed a low capacity as well as low potential buffering capacity of soils and it underlined the importance of K fertilization.