Effect of Heat Treatments on Potassium Release from Di- and Trioctahedral Micas in Alfalfa Rhizosphere

Heated micaceous minerals under different commercial brand names (including vermiculite) are used as culture medium in greenhouses. Heating minerals affects the release of elements, such as potassium, by changing their structure. The present study, investigates the ability of alfalfa, as one of the most important fodder around the world, to take up the non-exchangeable and structural potassium from heated micaceous minerals. The simultaneous effects of heat treatments and rhizospheric conditions on potassium release from two heated micaceous minerals including muscovite, as a di-ochtahedral mica, and phlogipite, as a tri-ochtahedral one, were studied in a pot experiment. The experiment was carried out as a completely randomized design with factorial combinations and three replications. Minerals were heated at 100 to 900 0C for 5 hours and mixed with quartz sand to fill the pots as the culture medium. Pots were irrigated with two different nutrient solutions (+K or -K) and distilled water during a period of five months. At the end of experiment, dry matter of shoot and root samples was measured separately. The K uptake by plant was then measured by flame photometer following the dry ash extraction. Results revealed different responses of micaceous minerals to heat treatments. In K-free treatments, the plant K uptake was significantly influenced by culture media. The most plant K available was released at 100 and 200 0C for muscovite and phlogopite treated plants, respectively. The structural changes causing a considerable decrease in potassium release, also took place at 700 0C for phlogopite and 500 to 700 0C for muscovite.