Genetic approaches for improvement of the crop potassium acquisition and utilization efficiency

• Published in: Current opinion in plant biology Vol. 25; pp. 46 - 52
• Main Authors: Wang, Yi, Wu, Wei-Hua
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.06.2015
• Subjects: Agriculture; Biological Transport; Biomass; Crops, Agricultural; Plant Development; Plant Physiological Phenomena; Plants - genetics; Plants - metabolism; Potassium - metabolism; Stress, Physiological
• ISSN: 1369-5266; 1879-0356
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pbi.2015.04.007

•Potassium (K) nutrition assures crop yield, quality and tolerance.•Deficiency in K has become a limitation for the development of agriculture.•Genetic improvement of crop K utilization efficiency (KUE) is urgently required.•Evidence has been obtained that modification of root architecture can improve K acquisition.•Manipulation of K uptake and transport within the plant is a realistic approach to improving KUE. Potassium (K) is one of the essential macronutrients for higher plants, not only important for plant growth and development, but also crucial for crop yield and quality. The deficiency in K in large areas of arable land worldwide has become a limitation for sustainable development of agriculture, and threatens the world food security. Along with the increased limitation of K fertilizer supply, the genetic improvement of K utilization efficiency (KUE) of crop plants may become a feasible way to solve the problem. K nutrition depends on an underlying relationship with metabolic regulation which together influence crop yield, quality and responses to environmental stress. Manipulation of root architecture together with K transport and distribution within the plant offer great potential to improve KUE.