Young people interested in dairy farming have until Oct. 9 to apply for an innovative program, now in its fourth year, to help them establish their own grass-based dairy farms in Wisconsin. That question has been muted a bit this year as the 10-year grouse cycle approaches its peak, but it often arises when turkeys move in. It was especially common when grouse numbers bottomed out earlier this decade. As gardeners know, potassium is a basic element in plant fertilizers.
Plants fall flat without it.
They need potassium to control the water content of their stems and leaves. Without enough potassium, plant leaves become limp and cells can't elongate. Now University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists have shown that plants can create an electric potential of almost a quarter of a volt across the cell membrane. That differential allows root cells to draw the positively charge potassium ions from soil water into the negatively charged cells. The nutrient moves through special membrane proteins called potassium channels.