When margins tighten, the temptation is to trim. Potassium is often first on the chopping block — right when it shouldn’t be, because this year K is one of the more affordable nutrients in the program. Cutting the affordable nutrient to “save money” is usually how you leave yield on the table.
Potassium earns its place. It regulates water and turgor in the plant, drives photosynthesis and enzyme activation, builds the cellulose that keeps a crop standing, improves drought resilience, and supports grain quality (University of Minnesota Extension). Skimp on it and you feel it in lodging, in stress years, and at the grade table.
Balance and placement, not just rate
Phosphorus and potassium also work best in balance and in the right place. Phosphorus is famously immobile in the soil — broadcast it and much of it never reaches a root (more on that in our look at phosphate tie-up). Placing P and K together, near the root zone and in balance, means the crop draws a complete, proportioned supply from the same spot rather than chasing two nutrients applied separately and unevenly.
That is the idea behind PKpluS — a phosphate-based product that pairs P and K (with calcium, magnesium, and sulphur) in one granule to improve nutrient use efficiency across soil types. Confirm the exact analysis and rate that fit your soil with a soil test and your Taurus rep, and fit it into the broader granular program.
The decision this year
Don’t cut the nutrient that’s working in your favor on price. Keep potassium in the program, keep it balanced with phosphorus, and place both where the crop can actually use them. That’s how P and K get placed to pay.
Sources
- University of Minnesota Extension — Potassium for crop production
