Abstract: The effect of polyhalite on wheat in yellow and purple soils collected from west Hubei province was studied by a greenhouse pot experiment in whole wheat growth duration. Results showed that, in yellow and purple soils, polyhalite treatment significantly increased grain yield of wheat by 28.7% and 46.6% respectively compared with CK （KCl） treatment, which mainly because polyhalite treatment significantly increased the amount of effective panicle by 31.2% and 37.5% in yellow and purple soils, respectively. In yellow soil, Ca and Mg uptake in wheat plant from polyhalite treatment was almost identical to that from CK treatment, whereas S uptake from polyhalite treatment was significantly higher than that from CK treatment by 44.6%; In purple soil, polyhalite treatment significantly increased Ca, Mg and S uptake in wheat plant by 7.7%, 25.0% and 81.8%, respectively. The above results implied that, wheat responded better to polyhalite in purple soil than in yellow soil, and mainly because the effective Ca, Mg and S content in purple soil was obviously lower than that in yellow soil.

Key words: polyhalite, yellow soil, purple soil, wheat, yield, nutrient uptake