Responses of Spring Wheat Cultivars to Nutrient Solutions Containing Additional Potassium Chloride

Hard red spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars each respond differently to chloride fertilizer under field conditions. The objective of this research was to investigate cultivar-specific chloride responses under controlled environments. Plants were grown in sand culture ± additional chloride (±20 mM KCl) nutrient solutions for four weeks. Of cultivars given additional chloride, ‘Butte,’ ‘Sharp,’ ‘Ingot,’ ‘Oxen,’ ‘Forge,’ and ‘Ember’ had significantly greater shoot chloride uptake than ‘Marshall.’ In soil-grown plants given 0, 20, 80, or 160 mM KCl from planting to heading, seed number remained constant, while individual seed weight and total yield decreased at higher KCl treatment levels in ‘Butte.’ Individual seed weight remained constant, while seed number and total yield increased in ‘Marshall.’ It was concluded that chloride fertilizer response in ‘Marshall’ under field conditions may have been mediated by reduced chloride uptake, which in turn resulted in decreased chloride toxicity at higher-chloride soil fertility levels.