MOP — Muriate of Potash (0-0-60)
The potassium fertiliser. It will not green up a crop, but it fills the grain, bulks the tuber and helps the plant handle drought and disease.
- Composition
- 60% K₂O (as potassium chloride)
- Form
- Pink / red crystals
- Subsidised price
- ~₹1,700 per 50 kg bag (2024–25)
- Best for
- Fruit, tuber and grain fill
Overview
MOP (potassium chloride) is the cheapest and most concentrated potash fertiliser — 60% K₂O. Potassium does not build tissue the way nitrogen does; instead it runs the plant’s plumbing: water movement, sugar transport, and the strength and stress tolerance that show up as fuller grain, heavier tubers and fewer lodged, disease-prone plants.
It matters most on potassium-hungry crops — potato, sugarcane, banana — and on light soils that hold little potash. Many farmers under-apply it because its effect is less visible than a nitrogen green-up, but skimping on potash quietly caps yield and quality.
What it is and when to reach for it
- A straight potassium source — use it wherever a soil test shows low potassium, and always on high-potash-demand crops.
- It contains chloride, which most crops tolerate well, but for tobacco and some fruit quality types SOP (sulphate of potash) is preferred instead.
- Potassium improves drought tolerance and standing ability, so it is not a luxury even when the crop looks green.
How to apply it well
- Apply the full dose as basal at sowing on most crops; on light, leaching soils and long-duration crops, split it with a top dressing at bulking.
- For potato, sugarcane and banana, potash is a headline nutrient — follow the crop’s package of practices rather than a token dose.
- Band it near the root zone like phosphorus on light soils to reduce leaching loss.
Common mistakes
- Skipping potash because the crop looks green — the shortfall shows up only later as poor fill and scorched leaf edges.
- Using MOP on chloride-sensitive crops (tobacco, some grapes) where SOP would protect quality.
- Assuming black cotton soils never need potash — get a soil test; many are lower than assumed.
Organic alternative
Wood ash
Wood ash carries potash and also raises soil pH — useful on acidic soils, used sparingly, but not a like-for-like replacement on a heavy potash crop.
Crops it is used on
Open a crop for its full nutrient schedule.
Common questions
What is 0-0-60?
It is the N-P-K grade of MOP: 0% nitrogen, 0% phosphorus and 60% potassium (as K₂O). A 50 kg bag therefore supplies 30 kg of potash and nothing else.
Which crops need the most potash?
Potato, sugarcane, banana and other high-yielding fruit and tuber crops remove large amounts of potassium, as do cotton and tomato. On these crops and on light, sandy soils, potash is a headline nutrient, not an optional extra.
MOP or SOP?
MOP (potassium chloride) is cheaper and fine for most crops. SOP (sulphate of potash) costs more but avoids chloride and adds sulphur — worth it for chloride-sensitive, quality-sensitive crops like tobacco, some grapes and certain vegetables.
Composition and doses follow ICAR / Soil Health Card guidance; prices are the notified subsidised rates for the season shown and are guidance, not a quote. A soil test for your field always beats a general rate. See our editorial policy.