The degree of soil nutrient availability to plants is one of the major factors determining crop production. Mathematical models have been proposed to simulate nutrient flux toward roots, taking into account several physical and chemical soil parameters as well as anatomical and physiological root traits. The objective of this paper was to establish a relationship between Baldwin's theoretical diffusion model and experimental field data involving the response of wheat to K fertilization. Based on simulations with the theoretical model, it was observed that soils with a 3.6 times higher K buffer power would result in 3 times lower K root absorption. An empirical model derived from three wheat field experiments indicated significant interaction among the following factors: grain yield, soil clay content, applied K rate, and soil K content. The higher the clay content, the greater the K rate necessary for a given wheat yield. The model indicated that for every 10 % more clay the K2O demand would increase by 8 to 9 kg ha-1. When the soil K content was above 40 mg dm-3 there was a tendency to gradually decrease the amount of K to be applied for any soil clay content, indicating that the minimum K level for wheat development for the studied soils was about this concentration. These observations may imply that soil clay content, or any other soil factor related to it, such as the soil K buffer power or cation exchange capacity, could be incorporated into K fertilizer recommendation, once these factors present a relationship with Baldwin's diffusion model variables.
wheat; potassium; soil; clay; diffusion model; diffusive critical level
