Soil Application of Potassium Maintains Growth, Water Relations, Yield and Seed Quality of Quinoa in Salt Affected Soils

Quinoa is a super food, climate resilient crop which can be grown on salt affected soils, but the seed produced in sat affected soil show poor germination and vigour. A study comprising of pot and field experiment with two salinity levels, normal (less than 4 dS m⁻¹), saline (15 dS m⁻¹) and four potassium doses 50, 75, 100, 125 kg ha⁻¹ was conducted to evaluate the effect of potassium application on plant growth, physiology, water relations and seed quality of quinoa CV. (UAF-Q7). Soil application of potassium @125 kg ha⁻¹ increased plant height and panicle length in both experiments. Transpiration rate, water use efficiency, chlorophyll content index and photosynthetic rate also improved in normal and saline soil. Similarly, plant water relations including osmotic potential, water potential, relative water contents, seed yield and seed germination (82%) also improved by application of application of potassium @125 kg ha⁻¹. Sodium ion concentration in quinoa seed decreased (21.66 ppm) and potassium concentration increased (43.95 ppm) while no significant change in calcium was observed by the application of potassium. In conclusion, soil application of potassium @125 kg ha⁻¹ not only improves growth, physiology, and yield attributes but also seed quality of quinoa in both normal and salt affected soil. Recommendations of this study will be helpful to improve the quality of quinoa seed produced on salt affected soils and future food security.