Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rcrh6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T23:08:31.807Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Subclinical copper deficiency in crops on the Breckland in East Anglia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

Alison R. Tills  and
B. J. Alloway
Alison R. Tills
Affiliation:
Department of Botany and Biochemistry, Westfield College, University of London, London NWS 1ST
B. J. Alloway
Affiliation:
Department of Botany and Biochemistry, Westfield College, University of London, London NWS 1ST
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Visible symptoms of copper deficiency in cereals have been observed in several parts of Britain and described by Caldwell (1971) and others. However, several cases have also been reported where yield increases of up to 20% or more have been obtained in response to copper treatment in several types of crops which did not show any symptoms of deficiency. These subclinical deficiencies are frequently not recognized under ordinary farming conditions where poor yields can often be ascribed to other causes, such as water stress. Copper applied as a foliar spray has powerful fungicidal properties but the yield responses discussed here were only due to the nutritional effects of the element. In trials with foliar applications of copper, Reith (1968) reported yield increases averaging 20% in oats and barley at different sites in Scotland on sandy soils formed on glacial drift.

Type
Short Notes
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 97 , Issue 2 , October 1981 , pp. 473 - 476
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1981

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alloway, B. J. (1976). Field studies on the magnesium, copper and zinc nutrition of maize. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 86, 93–101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anon. (1973). The analysis of agricultural materials. Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Technical Bulletin 27. London: H.M.S.O.Google Scholar
Avery, B. W. & Bascomb, C. L. (ed.) (1974). Soil Survey Laboratory Methods. Soil Survey Technical Monograph No. 6. Harpenden.Google Scholar
Brown, J. C. & Clark, R. B. (1977). Copper as essential to wheat reproduction. Plant and Soil 48, 509–523.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caldwell, T. H. (1971). Copper deficiency in crops: II. Copper deficiency in peats and sands in East Anglia. In Trace Elements in Soils and Crops. Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Technical Bulletin 21. London: H.M.S.O.Google Scholar
Carruthers, A., Oldfield, J. E. T. & Teague, H. J. (1962). Assessment of beet quality. Paper presented to the XVth Annual Technical Conference of the British Sugar Corporation, pp. 1–28.Google Scholar
Corbett, W. M. (1973). Breckland Forest Soils. Special Survey No. 7. Harpenden: Soil Survey of England and Wales.Google Scholar
Davies, D. B., Hooper, L. J., Charlesworth, R. R., Little, R. C., Evans, C. & Wilkinson, B. (1971). Copper deficiency in crops. III. Copper disorders in cereals grown in south eastern and central southern England. In Trace Elements in Soils and Crops, pp. 88–118. Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Technical Bulletin 21. London: H.M.S.O.Google Scholar
Jordan, W. J. (1975). The application of regional geochemical reconnaissance to arable cropping in England and Wales. Ph.D. thesis, University of London.Google Scholar
Le Docte, A. (1927). Commercial determination of sugar in the beet root using the Sachs-Le Docte process. International Sugar Journal 29, 488–492.Google Scholar
Lindsay, W. L. & Nokvell, W. A. (1978). Development of a DTPA soil test for zinc, iron, manganese and copper. Soil Science Society of America Journal 42, 421–428.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McLaren, R. G. & Crawford, D. V. (1973). Studies on soil copper. I. The fractionation of copper in soils. Journal of Soil Science 24 (2), 172–181.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pizer, N. H., Caldwell, T. H., Burgess, G. R. & Jones, I. L. O. (1966). Investigations into copper deficiency in crops in East Anglia. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 66, 303–314.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reith, J. W. S. (1968). Copper deficiency in crops in north-east Scotland. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 70, 39–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, R. T. & Atkinson, K. (1975). Techniques in Pedology. London: Elek Science.Google Scholar