# Looking for scientific papers on whether aquatic plants need potassium



## rebel (22 Jul 2019)

Hi everyone, 

Someone has mentioned elsewhere aquatics don't need K so need some scientific articles to back me up. Thanks for your help and links.

[ There is no need for a long discussion on this; I love special K for my aquatics, just that I need to show someone else without just using anaecdotes ]


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## Edvet (22 Jul 2019)

Problem will be there are no comercially grown underwaterplants that need to be studied to optimize growth ( afaik). Most studies are on terrestrial plants.
I found this: http://www.apms.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/japm-56-01-39.pdf


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## rebel (22 Jul 2019)

Edvet said:


> Problem will be there are no comercially grown underwaterplants that need to be studied to optimize growth ( afaik). Most studies are on terrestrial plants.
> I found this: http://www.apms.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/japm-56-01-39.pdf


Thanks but this person is claiming ONLY terrestrials needs K. NOT aquatic.


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## alto (22 Jul 2019)

Many submerse plant biochemistry studies are done with rice species, so perhaps use those as a starting point


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## alto (22 Jul 2019)

Also try Aquatic Botany 
eg

Biphasic mineral nutrition of the submersed aquatic macrophyte _Potamogeton pectinatus_ L.


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## X3NiTH (22 Jul 2019)

Potassium - a non limiting nutrient in fresh waters? J.F.Talling.

If you want to wave away the background level argument my tuppence would be that if you put an aquatic plant in a container with zero K water it will still use the K it has in its tissues to transport waste out from the plant, if you don't remove that K that ends up in the water then the plant will just uptake it again and continue to transport elements, maybe grow a little more slowly, perhaps sacrifice a leaf or multiple parts of a leaf to reduce the amount of transportation needed to be done and continue to try grow normally or modify its tissues to survive in a K depleted environment.

Can a plant survive entirely on the K stored in it's seed for a lifetime of the plants growth, I dunno, I'm pretty sure it would thrive best if it came by more as it grew.

Algae study because all plants are descended from it!


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## Hendre (22 Jul 2019)

NPK are the cornerstones for plant life. Surely that can't be discounted because it lives underwater?

Do whales not need the same nutrients as other mammals just because they live in the water?


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## Edvet (22 Jul 2019)

Oooh and while you at it i need some other proof: vaccination doesn't cause autism, the earth isn't flat, man has been to the moon.


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## Tim Harrison (22 Jul 2019)

Seems a bit far fetched to me too...


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## zozo (22 Jul 2019)

In general P and K are the flowering and fruiting excelerators in terrestrial (grow form) plants. For many flowering plants it is common practice to add extra P and K at this stage to get more and bigger flowers and or more and bigger fruit. Since a terrestrial plant that is forced to grow submersed in its aqautic form will not/never flower and only grow vegetative and is most depended on N.

In theory the major function of K in the plant is its water regulation and breathing mechanisme, the opening and closing from the stomata. Since research revealed that most aquatic formed leaves on most plants do not develop nore depend on this stomata. I can imagine that someone adding all this logic in a sum would think hence it doesn;t need K!?.

But what they probably are missing is, K is absorbed by the plant as a K+ positive ion, it is next to N the most needed element. It's also a transporter and compensator binding with negative ions such as N, P, sugars and amino acids. As plant in aqautic form it might need K less than its terrestrial flowering form but it still is indispensable for the plants lifelycle. 

For the rest is K indeed a very mysterious element, there is still a lot unknown about all its functions and depending on the plant spp. in dry weight a plant only contains 1 to 5% K.

Finding scientific papers on the role of K in a plant might simply be enough to dispute the claim..


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## zozo (22 Jul 2019)

https://www.greenwaybiotech.com/blogs/news/whats-the-function-of-potassium-k-in-plants


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## rebel (23 Jul 2019)

X3NiTH said:


> Potassium - a non limiting nutrient in fresh waters? J.F.Talling.


Thanks heaps! That will do. 

Your info is fascinating about K in general. 

I didnt want to make any informal logical fallacies when countering this one. 

Also the onus was on the other side to prove it but I thought it would be easy for me (non expert) to research it. As usual the details are tricky and more nuanced.  

I might chase Karen Randall and Tom Barr as well but FB can become cesspit of bad ideas so fast.....

Thanks again.


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## rebel (23 Jul 2019)

zozo said:


> https://www.greenwaybiotech.com/blogs/news/whats-the-function-of-potassium-k-in-plants


Thanks @zozo  for your great info.  

While I may not change the other persons mind, I do enjoy practising how to search for the correct answer. That includes asking experts to help.


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## rebel (23 Jul 2019)

alto said:


> Also try Aquatic Botany
> eg
> 
> Biphasic mineral nutrition of the submersed aquatic macrophyte _Potamogeton pectinatus_ L.


Thanks!

There is an interesting bit in that article how Na can be subsituted for K at times! It makes sense to a degree due to similarities of the atoms.


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