Potassium uptake: cause, not effect

The standard

A measured potassium balance records how much potassium the soil supplies and how much the vine stores, rather than reading the pH value of the must alone. Without it a high pH remains an effect without a named cause.

Criteria

• The plant-available potassium reserve of the soil is known
• Storage in the berry is distinguished from soil supply
• The link to pH value and tartaric acid is stated
• Variety-dependent differences are taken into account

Distinction

Potassium uptake ≠ soil potassium content: the soil can be rich in potassium without the vine storing it accordingly. Potassium uptake ≠ pH shift: the shift of the pH value is the consequence, the uptake one of its causes. A measured potassium balance separates reserve, uptake and effect.