Response of Kharif groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) to various levels and sources of potassium

An experiment entitled, “Effect of levels and sources of potassium on yield and quality of kharif groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) in Entisol” was conducted during kharif, 2016 at PG Research Farm, College of Agriculture, Kolhapur. The experiment was laid out in a Factorial Randomized Block Design with two replications comprising of five levels (0, 10, 20, 30, 40 kg K2O ha-1) and four sources (Muriate of potash, Sulphate of potash, Bagasse ash and Schoenite) of potassium. Results revealed that significantly highest dry pod and kernel yield (31.69 and 22.13 q ha-1, respectively) were obtained with application of 40 kg K2O ha-1, while among sources, sulphate of potash (SOP) recorded highest yields (27.70 and 19.26 q ha-1, respectively) which was significantly superior over S3 (bagasse ash) but at par with rest of potassium sources. The nutrient uptake of groundnut was found to be increased significantly with increase in levels of potassium. Significantly highest total uptake of N, P, K, Ca and S (130.07, 19.81, 82.53, 56.92 and 18.40 kg ha-1, respectively) were recorded by application of 40 kg K2O ha-1 than rest of potassium levels. Amongst different sources S2 -SOP recorded highest total N (114.32 kg ha-1), Ca (53.24 kg ha-1) and S (15.55 kg ha-1) uptake, while highest total P (17.86 kg ha-1), K (75.49 kg ha-1) uptake were observed with S1 (MOP).