Potassium deficiency in agricultural soils is a largely unrecognised but potentially significant threat to global food security if left unaddressed, finds new research involving researchers at UCL, University of Edinburgh and the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.

The study, published in Nature Food, found that more potassium is being removed from agricultural soils than is being added, throughout many regions of the world. It also gives a series of recommendations for how to mitigate the issue.

Potassium is a vital nutrient for plant growth that helps with photosynthesis and respiration, the lack of which can inhibit plant growth and reduce crop yields. Farmers often spread potassium-rich fertilisers over their fields to replenish the depleted nutrient, but supply issues can inhibit its use, and there are lingering questions about its environmental impact.

The researchers report that globally, about 20% of agricultural soils face severe potassium deficiency, with particular regions likely to experience more critical shortages, including 44% of agricultural soils in South-East Asia, 39% in Latin America, 30% in Sub-Saharan Africa and 20% in East Asia, largely due to more intensive agricultural practices.

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[–] Cypher@lemmy.world 5 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (2 children)

… where exactly do you think the potassium goes?

Also Potassium is a chemical element not a mineral, though it occurs in many minerals.

[–] bluGill@kbin.social 4 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Err, yeah. Not a mineral but an element. my mistake

it leaves the field with the food we take off. from there it ends up in landfills and sewer systems. None go back toethe field.

[–] Cypher@lemmy.world 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

You reckon farmers are too stupid to buy fertiliser with sufficient potassium in it?

You literally get potassium back in the cycle just from composting waste.

[–] bluGill@kbin.social 1 points 5 months ago

Farmers do buy fertilizer. The concern is how that fertilizer is produced.

[–] No_Eponym@lemmy.ca 4 points 5 months ago (1 children)

... Into the plants? Or washed away/blown away with soil? Seems pretty straightforward.

[–] Cypher@lemmy.world -2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

And do you suppose the potassium is “stuck” or locked away into those plants forever?

[–] oatscoop@midwest.social 9 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

No. It goes into the people/animals eating those plants, and from there to a million different places that aren't farm fields.

That's the problem: that potassium doesn't cycle back to the soil it came from. Farmers have to rely on adding mined potash to the soils to compensate for that loss. The entire point of the article is potassium is being removed from the soil faster than it's being added back in.

[–] Cypher@lemmy.world -1 points 5 months ago (2 children)

We put nitrogen in fertiliser and for some reason you think it’s impossible to put potassium in? Really?

Potassium is a key component of any fertiliser.

[–] oatscoop@midwest.social 2 points 5 months ago

We put nitrogen in fertiliser and for some reason you think it’s impossible to put potassium in? Really?

... Did you miss where I wrote

Farmers have to rely on adding mined potash to the soils to compensate for that loss.

Maybe read the actual article.

[–] wahming@monyet.cc 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

You did read the article, or at least the summary, right? It's discussing shortage of fertiliser due to supply issues

[–] Cypher@lemmy.world 0 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I was addressing the ridiculous claim that potassium cannot be replaced.

Now if you’re not going to actually read and comprehend a comment chain you can piss off.

[–] wahming@monyet.cc 0 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Farmers have to rely on adding mined potash to the soils to compensate for that loss.

You mean this sentence in the comment you replied to? This sentence that claims potassium cannot be replaced?

[–] Cypher@lemmy.world 0 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

https://kbin.social/m/science@lemmy.world/t/978925/-/comment/6321012

Reading comment chains and keeping track of them isn’t hard. If you continue to experience cognitive issues please seek medical assistance.

Edit: in case you have issues accessing the link

Potasium is a mineral. When it is gone it is gone. Nitrogen is replenishable, but minerals need to be brought back some other way.