A corn crop takes up nearly as much potassium (K) as it does nitrogen (N), yet management of each nutrient is entirely different. Whereas harvesting 125 bushels of corn grain per acre removes only 35 lbs of potash (K₂O), harvesting 21 tons of silage per acre carries away 160 lbs of K₂O; and the voracious appetite of a 5-ton per-acre alfalfa crop takes 230 lbs of K₂O per acre from a field. Yet, managing potassium for each of these crops is relatively simple because of the reaction of K with soil, a reaction completely unlike the behavior of N in soil.

soil test recommendation tables based on field research data obtained in North Dakota, South Dakota, western Minnesota and the Canadian Prairie Provinces

Shortage of good or even medium quality water for crop irrigation is quickly becoming a major constraint to the ever-growing pursuit after agricultural production increase, much needed for feeding the multiplying population of our planet. Both components of potassium nitrate have been found by numerous researches to have a marked influence on the proper functioning of higher plants and optimizing their performances. Potassium, by being involved in the physiology of over 60 different enzymes, is directly involved in the water management of the plant by maintaining turgor, reducing water loss and wilting and improving drought tolerance. Nitrate has been shown during decades to competently and directly promote water use efficiency as compared to the ammonium form of nitrogen.
Application of potassium nitrate and its derivatives, by either nutrigation or by foliar spray, has directly enhanced fruit mass and quality of numerous crops, while irrigation rate was kept unchanged.

Press each nutrient to jump directly to it: N, P, K, Mg, Fe, Mn