Effect of potassium fertilizers and availability of mobile potassium of soil on 137Cs accumulation by feed grain crops

Abstract

In stationary field experiment on sod-podzolic sandy loam soil, the application of increasing rates of potassium fertilizers had a significant effect on reducing the intake of ¹³⁷Cs in winter triticale grain. The application of N₉₀P₆₀K₆₀ in comparison with the control variant reduced the transfer of ¹³⁷Cs in triticale grain by 51 % and N90P60K120 by 55 %. The minimum specific activity of grain for ¹³⁷Cs – 2,29 Bq/kg was registered when N90P60K180 was applied. Route field studies have established a fairly close negative relationship between the content of mobile potassium in the soil and the accumulation of ¹³⁷Cs by grains of various crops. The content of mobile potassium, at which the minimum accumulation of 137Cs by spring wheat is noted, is 419 mg/kg, barley 413 mg/kg, corn 432 mg/kg and peas 350 mg/kg of soil.