Pot culture studies of the copper and molybdenum content of certain pasture plants

Abstract

Erodium cygnorum, Medicago denticulata, and Hordeum leporinum were grown in pots on soils from toxaemic jaundice enzootic areas and from reputedly non-affected areas. The copper and molybdenum content of each species at flowering was determined. The mean copper content of the plants grown on soils from the enzootic areas did not differ from that of the plants grown on soils from reputedly non-affected areas. The copper-molybdenum ratio of the plants varied widely. The values obtained for plants grown on soils from the enzootic areas were no higher than those obtained for plants grown on other soils. There was a significant difference between the copper contents of the three species. Although the copper content was not abnormally high in any of the species examined, the differences are great enough to indicate that variations in the botanical composition of the pasture may considerably influence the amount of copper ingested by the grazing animal.