Effect of Nano- and Conventional Silicon and Potassium on The Availability and Uptake of Silicon, Potassium and Potato Yield Under Water Stress Conditions

This field experiment was conducted in the spring of 2023 at Agricultural Research Station 1 of the College of Agriculture at the University of Anbar in Ramadi, Iraq. It investigated the effect of different levels of nano and conventional potassium (0, 300, 15, 30 kg K2O ha-1 designated K0, Kt, Kn1, and Kn2, respectively), spraying nano silicon (0, and 4 ml L-1 or Si0 and Si1, respectively), and different irrigation levels (35, 45, 55% or I1, I2, and I3, respectively) of plant-available water on the available and absorbed concentrations of potassium and silicon, potato yield, some production indicators, element utilization efficiency, and water use efficiency. The results show that water stress level I1 had the highest value for water use efficiency at 5.967 kg m-3. Treatment I1Kt recorded the highest value for available potassium concentration in the soil after harvest, at 181.57 mg kg-1, the highest dry matter yield of aerial parts (4693 kg ha-1), and the highest percentage of dry matter in tubers (22.29%). The I3Kn2 treatment achieved the highest values in potassium concentration in potato tubers (2.335%), total potassium uptake (143.04 kg ha-1), and total silicon uptake (15.54 kg ha-1). The I3Si1 treatment gave the highest value of 0.420% in silicon concentration in the vegetative part, and I1KtSi1 recorded the highest marketable yield with a value of 52.418 Mg ha-1. Treatment I3Kn2Si1 registered the highest potassium concentration in the vegetative part (3.855%) and the highest silicon concentration in tubers (0.338%)