No abstract

Copper nutrition of barley (Hordeum vulgare'Conquest'), oats (Avena sativa 'Hudson'), wheat (Triticum aestivum 'Neepawa'), flax (Linum usitatissium 'Dufferin') and canola (Brassica campestis 'Torch') was studied on a severely Cu-deficient organic soil in a controlled environment growth chamber. The objective of the study was to facilitate identification of Cu-related growth disorders by establishing the critical levels for Cu in plant tissues of the crops listed above.Copper deficiency symptoms were exhibited by all crops when Cu was not applied.Copper concentrations in plant shoots were considered as low when they ranged from 3.0 to 4.9 pg Cu/g plant dry matter (pdm) for wheat, from 2.3 to 3.'1 pg Cu/ g pdm for barley, from 1.7 to 2.5 pg Cu/g pdm for oats, from 1.7 to 2.7 p'g Cttl g pdm for canola and from2.4 to 3.5 pg Cuig for flax. The measurements were made at heading for the cereals, pod initiation for canola, and at flower initiation for flax. Concentrations below these ranges were considered deficient and above these ranges sufficient. The order of tolerance to Cu deficiency in the soil was canola) barley ) oats ) wheat)flax.

No abstract

Zn increased shoot dry matter yield of 62-day-old corn grown in the greenhouse on Almasippi loamy fine sand (Gleyed Carbonated Rego Black) containing 0.77 ppm DTPA-extractable Zn whereas corn in the field on the same soil had not responded to Zn. Soil mass or dimensions had little influence upon degree of response to Zn. When no Zn was applied, Zn uptake was not influenced by soil mass, suggesting that the amount of plant-available soil Zn did not increase with increasing soil mass. Results from this study provided little evidence that restricted soil mass, limiting the amount of available soil Zn, was the primary cause of greater response to Zn fertilization in pot as compared to field experiments. Key words: Corn, soil-mass, zinc