The effect of successive crops of wheat on the availability of copper fertilizers to plants

Abstract

Successive cropping with wheat on an acid sandy loam and a calcareous sand rapidly decreased the availability of applied copper sulfate to wheat plants grown in pots. The amount of copper removed in grain and straw was only approximately 10 per cent of the amount of copper applied. Ammonium oxalate-extractable copper also declined with successive crops. Moreover, the relationship between copper uptake and extractable copper also changed with successive crops. The amount of ammonium oxalate-extractable copper required for maximum growth increased with successive crops from 0.2 to 0.4 8g/g soil on the acid sandy loam and from 0.6 to 0.8 8g/g on the calcareous sand.