Comparative requirements of sulphur by cereals and legumes

Abstract

In a pot experiment on a black earth, wheat and oats were more sensitive to sulphur deficiency than lucerne and white clover, and they required more sulphur to achieve maximum dry matter production.

On the other hand the cereals recovered a higher proportion of the applied sulphur from the soil, and they used absorbed sulphur more efficiently for dry matter production by the time their grain had reached maturity. It is suggested that the higher efficiency of the cereals was possibly due to the translocation of accumulated sulphate sulphur to the developing inflorescences, where it was used for further dry matter production. These factors could account at least partly for the tolerance of cereals to sulphur deficiency in the field.