K+S KALI GmbH - Chloride tolerance of various crops

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Fertiliser Advisory service

Chloride tolerance of various crops

The element chlorine is ubiquitous in nature, and occurs in aqueous solutions as the anion chloride (CI-). In
this form it is also readily taken up by plants and average chlorine contents in plant tissues are in the range of
2-20 mg g-1 dry matter. In most plant species the requirement for optimal plant growth, however, is 10 to 100
times lower which means that chlorine is a typical micronutrient. Because it is usually supplied to plants as
chloride from various sources (soil reserves, irrigation water, rain, fertilisers, air pollution), chlorine deficiency
is rarely found. On the contrary, there is much more concern about chlorine toxicity world-wide. Plant species
vary greatly in their susceptibility to high chloride concentrations in the soil solution and four main groups in
this respect can be distinguished:

Chloride loving crops

Chloride tolerant crops
Partly chloride tolerant crops
Chloride sensitive crops
Chloride-loving crops include sugar beet, fodder beet, celery, asparagus and Swiss chard.
Chloride-sensitive crops include many fruit and vegetable varieties, and special crops such as hops or
tobacco. For these crops only fertilisers with potassium in sulphatic form should be used, such as KALISOP.

Classification

Crop

Product

Chloride - loving:

Sugar beet, fodder beet, celery, Swiss chard, coconut

Korn-Kali
60er Kali

Cereals, maize, oilseed rape, asparagus, cabbage, beetroot,

rhubarb Grassland, clover, oil palm, rubber, rice, groundnut,
cassava, soybean, sugar cane, banana, cotton

60er Kali
Korn-Kali
Magnesia-

Chloride based fertilisers

are preferred.
Chloride tolerant:
Chloride based fertilisers
can be used but most
vegetables prefer sulphate
based fertilisers because

Kainit

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K+S KALI GmbH - Chloride tolerance of various crops

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http://www.kali-gmbh.com/uken/fertiliser/advisory_service/chloride_to...

of their sulphur demand.

Partly chloride tolerant:
Chloride based fertilisers
can be used if they are
applied on time before the
start of vegetative growth.
Chloride sensitive:
(Only fertilisers containing
potassium in the form of
sulphate should be used).

Sunflowers, grape vines, stone fruits, blackcurrants, seed

potatoes, potatoes for human consumption, tomatoes, radish,
kohlrabi, peas, spinach, carrots, leek, horse-radish, chicory,
pineapple, cucumber, kiwifruit, coffee, tea

Patentkali

Starch potatoes, potatoes for processing, tobacco,

redcurrants, gooseberry, raspberry, strawberry, blackberry,
blueberry, mango, citrus, pepper, chilli, avocado, cashew,
almond, peach, cocoa, hops, pomes and stone fruits
(especially cherries), bush beans, broad beans, cucumber,
melon, onion, lettuce, early vegetables, all crops under glass,
conifers, flowers and ornaments as well as seedlings and
transplants of most plants

Patentkali
KALISOP

KALISOP
Korn-Kali

The effects of high CI- concentrations in the soil solution on yields of various crops is shown in the following
graphs. The steeper the yield decline with increasing CI- soil concentrations the more sensitive to chloride is a
crop and hence the better will be the response to virtually CI- free fertilisers, e.g. KALISOP and Patentkali.

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Prior to these substantial yield depressions, uptake of large amounts of chloride may lead to negative effects
on crop quality such as:
Reduced content of organic acids, resulting in a flat taste
Accumulation of low molecular organic substances and thus decreased contents of valuable storage
compounds (sugar, starch, protein)
Increase hydration of plant tissue and decreased storage or processing properties.
To avoid yield, quality and hence income losses in chloride sensitive and especially high value crops, where
quality counts, the use of our low chlorine potassium fertilisers, KALISOP and Patentkali is recommended.

2013 K+S KALI GmbH - Bertha-von-Suttner-Str. 7 - 34131 Kassel - Phone: +49 561 9301 0

15/5/2015 3:59 PM