Forms of potassium in representative soils of the State of Paraiba, Brazil

The soils of the State of Paraiba in Brazil exhibit great diversity in their chemical, physical and mineralogical characteristics, which result in variations in the levels and forms of K available in the soil. The objective of this work was to evaluate the levels of non-exchangeable, exchangeable and soluble K in twelve soils in the State of Paraiba, both with and without potassium fertilizer, and to correlate them with the chemical, physical and mineralogical properties of these soils. The study consisted of 60 treatments, being made up of 12 types of soil and five levels of K (0, 50, 100, 200 and 300 mg dm(-3)) in the form of potassium chloride, with three replications. After receiving the treatments, the soils were incubated for a period of 21 days, and then a subsample of 0.2 dm(3) was taken from each soil sample in order to determine the levels of non-exchangeable, exchangeable and soluble K. Soils formed under semiarid conditions presented the highest reserves of non-exchangeable K. Those with a greater proportion of mica and 2: 1 minerals in the clay fraction, showed the highest levels of non-exchangeable and exchangeable K. Independently of the soil group, silt levels were highly correlated with the levels of non-exchangeable and exchangeable K. In the more developed soils, there was no evidence of K fixation as a result of the fertilizer. However, in the less developed soils, K fixation was evidenced by the small amount of K recovered by extraction with ammonium acetate from the more clayey soils and especially from those with a predominance of 2: 1 minerals and mica.