The effect of saturation of the soil absorbing complex with cations on the yield and chemical composition of grasses

Abstract

Three year long pot experiments using medium sand were conducted with a Italian ryegrass, Lolium multiflorum. Two year pot experiments were also done on medium soil with meadow fescue, Festuca pratensis. Before the experiment was begun, the absorbing complexes of these soils were saturated with cations to very different degrees. The results of these experiments showed that the degree of saturation of the absorbing complexes with potassium and magnesium should increase as the size of the complex decreases. Increasing doses of potassium significantly widened the K : (Ca + Mg) ratio in grasses and lowered their quality, while Ca and Mg slightly narrowed this ratio. However, it was not wider than the acceptable ratio, even with the highest K doses.