Copper deficiency in crops in north-east Scotland

Abstract

SummeryField and pot experiments were carried out to determine how copper deficiency can be corrected on some soils in north-east Scotland. Spring-sown oats and barley are more susceptible to this deficiency than mixed herbage, while potatoes and swedes have not responded to Cu. The deficiency can be corrected by applying 10–20 lb CuSO4.5H2O per acre to the soil. Both field and pot experiments show that such treatments have large residual effects and under field conditions are effective for at least 8 years. A foliar spray supplying 1 lb CuSO4. 5H2O per acre is usually less effective than a soil dressing.Using soil undiluted with sand, the increase in grain yield produced by Cu treatment in pots was appreciably greater than in the field. The Cu content of mature oats and barley was practically unaffected by soil dressings but foliar spraying produced a considerable increase.Significant correlation coefficients have been obtained between soil Cu, extracted by 0·05 M EDTA, and the increase in grain yield produced by Cu applications in both field and pot experiments. In field experiments in north-east Scotland, cereal yields were not restricted by a deficiency if the EDTA-extractable Cu was above 1·1 ppm. With soil contents below 0–75 ppm Cu, the grain yields from spring-sown oats and barley were usually increased considerably; small responses were possible with contents between 0·75 and 1·1 ppm.

Total copper contents of Scottish soils

“…Copper deficiency in spring-sown cereals has been reported on soils of the Boyndie, Corby, Countesswells, Ordley and Elgin series (Reith, 1968(Reith, , 1976. These soils are developed on sands, granite or a mixture of sands and schists and contain between 2 and 15 mg/kg total copper.…”

Extractable copper concentrations in Scottish soils

“…(1979). Significant correlations between 1956Henriksen & Jensen, 1958Alston & McConaghy, 1965McKenzie, 1966Reith, 1968Beyers & Hammond, 1971Brogan et al, 1973Osiname et al, 1973King & Alston, 1975Archer, 1980Jarvis & Whitehead, 1981 McBratney et af., 1982Sillanpaa, 1982Tills & Alloway, 1983Dickson & Stevens, 1983 This study * Expressed as mg 1…”

“…A critical concentration of 0.75 mg kg-' EDTA-extractable Cu has been reported as a result of field experiments on a range of soils in Scotland by Reith (1968), while McKenzie (1966) found that only two out of 29 Cu-deficient soils had EDTA-extractable levels greater than 0.8 mg kg-in field trials on Australian soils. In field plot studies over 3 years on the effects of soil drainage conditions on the uptake of Cu and other trace elements by herbage (Berrow et al, 1983) a correlation coefficient of r = f0.67 was obtained between the mean Cu contents of nine samples of grass dominant mixed herbage and the corresponding EDTA-extractable soil Cu levels.…”

Effect of Different Levels of Soil and Foliar Application of Micro-Nutrients Fertilizer on Toffahy and Balahy Indian Ber Trees (Zizyphus mauritiana Lamk) Grown in Sandy Soil

“…It was noticed also that there were no significant interaction affecting its concentration in leaves. Reith (1968) compared soil application and foliar application of CuSO 4 .5H 2 O and found that foliar application was less effective than a soil application. He stated that the difference in effects on plant composition could have been due to dilution effect.…”