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The effect of various levels of potassium fertilizers on the yield and the nutrient value of carrots and radishes

University of British Columbia

The welfare of mankind is intimately bound up with the welfare of soils and plants as all of man's food comes, in the, first instance, from plants. Much research has been done to increase yields but little is known of the nutrient values of plants. Since little is known about potassium's effect on the nutrient value of plants, and because carrots have a high Vitamin A precursor content and radishes have a higher Vitamin C content, the author decided to determine what level of potash fertilization should be applied for optimum nutrient value in carrots and radishes. His decisions were, that while the addition of potash to land containing sufficient readily available potassium appears to tend to reduce yields, it does increase the mineral content of the produce. It also increases the total sugar up to a point after which it inhibits the carbohydrate formation. The author also found that additional potassium has no effect on the nitrogen content and, while it has no significant effect on the Vitamin A content it does have a very definite upward trend to produce more with the increases of potassium applied. The addition of potash increases the trend to produce more Vitamin C to the extent that high and very high levels of potassium applications become significant. The author found that correlation exists between the application of potassium and the protective nutrient value in plants.

Text

2012-03-02

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/41076

Plant Science

University of British Columbia

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