Potassium Potassium Potassium is a chemical element with symbol K (from Neo-Latin "kalium") and atomic number 19. It was first isolated from potash, the ashes of plants, from which its name derives. In the periodic table, potassium is one of the alkali metals. All of the alkali metals have a single valence electron in the outer electron shell, which is easily removed to create an ion with a positive charge – a cation, which combines with anions to form salts. Potassium in nature occurs only in ionic salts. Elemental potassium is a soft silvery-white alkali metal that oxidizes rapidly in air
Potassium polyacrylate with less water and fewer inputs. As a soil amendment, potassium polyacrylate can improve the soil water holding capacity. Potassium polyacrylate Potassium polyacrylate is a potassium salt of polyacrylic acid with the chemical formula [−CH−CH(COK)−] As a type of superabsorbent polymer, it can absorb hundreds times its original weight in purified water. Different from sodium polyacrylate, potassium polyacrylate can be used as water retaining agent in agriculture and won't cause soil salinization. As a type of superabsorbent polymer for plants (Ag-SAP), potassium polyacrylate can increase moisture availability to plants. It mixes with soil to increase the soil’s capacity for holding