ABSTRACT Brown, John C. The I n f l u e n c e o f C opper Compounds A p p l i e d t o Muck S o i l on t h e Y i e l d , Growth P a t t e r n and C o m p o s i t i o n o f C e r ta in C rops. I n v i e w o f t h e im p o r t a n c e o f a s u p p l y o f c o p p e r f o r p l a n t g r o w t h on c e r t a i n a c i d muck s o i l s o f M i c h i g a n , a f u r t h e r stu d y o f c o p p e r ’ s r o l e in p l a n t grow th was u n d e r ta k e n . S p r in g w h e a t , su d a n g r a s s , corn, tom atoes, sugar b e e t s , o a t s and c e l e r y w e r e grown on c o p p e r - d e f i c i e n t muck s o i l o b t a i n e d from t h e M ic h ig a n S t a t e C o l l e g e E x p e r i m e n t a l Muck Farm. T h i s muck c o n t a i n e d 86% o r g a n i c m a t t e r , had a pH o f 6 . 0 and a n a l y s i s f o r some o f t h e e l e m e n t s show ed a c o n t e n t o f 5.3% n i t r o g e n , ciu m , .21% p o t a s s i u m , .12% p h o s p h o r u s , 2.5% c a l ­ .27% m a g n esiu m , 1.3% i r o n and .0011% c o p p e r . A 3 - 9 - 1 8 f e r t i l i z e r was u se d a t th e r a t e o f 3000 l b s . p er a c r e , p lu s th e p r in c ip a l m ic r o -n u tr ie n t e le m e n ts. A l l t h e p l a n t s grow n i n t h i s i n v e s t i g a t i o n g a v e a marked r e s p o n s e t o c o p p e r compounds a s e v i d e n c e d i n g r e a t e r y i e l d s . Copper d e f i c i e n c y symptoms w e r e n o t e d i n e a c h c a s e w h e r e c o p p e r w as n o t a p p l i e d t o t h e s o i l . B e n e f i c i a l e f f e c t s upon g r o w t h w e r e o b s e r v e d i n g r o w in g s p r i n g w h e a t on s t e r i l i z e d muck s o i l w h e r e c o p p e r had n o t been a p p lie d . T h e s e p l a n t s p r o d u c e d g o o d v e g e t a t i v e g r o w th b u t showed c o p p e r d e f i c i e n c y a t t im e o f h ea d f o r m a t i o n , few heads w ere p rod u ced . very B row n, John C. The a b s o r p t i o n o f c o p p e r b y t h e p l a n t s s t u d i e d , effected th e u p ta k e o f i r o n , n i t r o g e n , p o ta s s iu m , p h o sp h o r u s, c a lc iu m , m agnesium and s i l i c a . The c o p p e r c o n t e n t o f c o r n k e r n e l s w a s - l o w e r fro m p l a n t s grow n i n c o p p e r - d e f i c i e n t muck s o i l t h a n i n s o i l s w i t h s u f ­ f i c i e n t copper. S e e d from p l a n t s grown i n t h e l a t t e r s o il p r o d u c e d n o rm a l p l a n t s w h e r e a s s e e d from t h e c o p p e r - d e f i c i e n t s o i l p r o d u c e d d w a r fe d p l a n t s w h ic h show ed p e r m a n e n t c o p p e r d e f i c i e n c y sy m p to m s. Copper a i d s i n c h lo r o p h y ll fo r m a tio n . O n ly w h e r e c o p p e r w as s u p p l i e d t o t h e s o i l d i d t h e r e d u c i n g s u g a r and n i t r o g e n c o n t e n t s a p p r o a c h e q u a l p e r c e n t a g e s i n g r o w in g w h e a t . W ith ­ o u t c o p p e r t h e n i t r o g e n c o n t e n t o f t h e p l a n t s r e m a in e d h i g h and t h e r e d u c i n g s u g a r l o w . The a d d i t i o n o f c o p p e r t o t h e s o i l r e s u l t e d i n a g r e a t e r number and w e i g h t o f f r u i t h a r v e s t e d fr o m t h e t o m a to p l a n t s . . N e c r o t i c s p o t s a p p e a r e d o n some o f t h e to m a to f r u i t w h e r e c o p ­ p e r had n o t b e e n i n c l u d e d i n t h e f e r t i l i z e r . T hese n e c r o t ic a r e a s w e r e n o t fo u n d on t h e f r u i t h a r v e s t e d from p l a n t s w h e r e c o p p e r had b e e n a p p l i e d . S u gar b e e t y i e l d s w e r e h i g h e r w h e r e c o p p e r w as a p p l i e d t o t h e s o i l and a r e d c o l o r a t i o n a p p e a r e d o n t h e c u t s u r f a c e s o f th e r o o t . The r e d c o l o r d id n o t a p p e a r w hen c o p p e r w a s not used. A c r o s s s e c t i o n o f t h e b e e t show ed t h e c o l o r a t i o n t o b e co n cen trated in c o n c e n tr ic r in g s .' T hese r i n g s co rresp o n d ed Brown, John C. to th e second ary v a s c u la r t i s s u e . The c o l o r a t i o n i s b e l i e v e d due t o t h e p r e s e n c e o f a c o p p e r enzym e and a s u i t a b l e s u b s t r a t e . Copper i s b e l i e v e d n e c e s s a r y f o r t h e n o rm a l m e t a b o l i c a c t i v it y o f th e p la n t p r o c e s s e s . THE INFLUENCE OF COPPER COMPOUNDS APPLIED TO MUCK SOIL ON THE YIELD, GROWTH PATTERN AND COMPOSITION OF CERTAIN CROPS By John C h a r i Brown A THESIS S u b m it t e d t o t h e S c h o o l o f G r a d u a te S t u d i e s o f M ic h ig a n S t a t e C o l l e g e o f A g r i c u l t u r e and A p p l i e d S c i e n c e . in p a r t i a l f u l f i l l m e n t o f th e req u irem en ts f o r th e d egree o f DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY D ep a rtm en t o f S o i l S c i e n c e 1949 ACKNOWLEDGMENT R e s e a r c h w ork r e q u i r e s c o o p e r a t i o n , s u g g e s t i o n s and g e n e r a l a s s i s t a n c e b o t h fr o m t h o s e w i t h whom we a s s o c i a t e and t h e c o n t r i b u t o r s i n w r i t i n g t o o u r s c i e n t i f i c jo u r n a ls . The w r i t e r w i s h e s t o e x p r e s s h i s d e e p e s t g r a t i t u d e t o a l l c o n tr ib u tin g to t h is in v e s t ig a t io n . He e x p r e s s e s g r e a t e s t a p p r e c i a t i o n t o D r . P a u l M. Harmer f o r h i s g u id a n ce th ro u g h o u t t h i s i n v e s t i g a t i o n , and f o r g e n e r a l u s e o f s o i l and e q u ip m e n t from t h e M i c h i g a n S t a t e C o l l e g e Muck E x p e r i m e n t a l Farm. Deep a p p r e c i a t i o n g o e s t o D r. C. E . M i l l a r , D r . L . M. Turk, D r . J . F . D a v i s , D r . R. L . Cook, o t h e r members o f t h e S o i l S c i e n c e D ep a rtm en t and f e l l o w G ra d u a te S t u d e n t s f o r t h e i r c o o p e r a t i o n and a d v i c e ; and t o D r. E . J . B en n e and o t h e r members o f t h e A g r i c u l t u r a l Chem­ i s t r y D ep a r tm e n t f o r h e l p f u l s u g g e s t i o n s , a d v i c e and u s e o f e q u ip m e n t . He w i s h e s t o e x p r e s s a p p r e c i a t i o n t o D r . S . H. W i t t w e r o f t h e H o r t i c u l t u r e D ep a rtm en t f o r t i m e l y s u g g e s t i o n s r e g a r d ­ i n g s e e d , v a r i e t y and hormone u s e d i n t h e i n v e s t i g a t i o n o f t o m a t o e s ; and t o D r . J . E . Plummer o f t h e T e n n e s s e e C o r p o r a ­ t i o n f o r h i s a s s i s t a n c e and f o r t h e g r a n t i n a i d t h a t made t h is research p r o je c t p o s s ib le . CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION............................................................................. '« ............................. REVIEW OF LITERATURE .................................. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE..................................................................................... 1 1 8 EXPERIMENT I ......................................................................................... S p r in g w h eat: a . R esponse to copper b . i n c r e a s i n g am ounts o f s i l i c i c a c i d i n t h e p resen ce o f copper. c . L a y e r in g c o p p e r " h a l f - w a y tT down i n j a r o f muck s o i l . Summary...................................................................................................................... 21 EXPERIMENT 2 ................................................................................. S p rin g w h eat: a . C op p er a p p l i e d a t v a r i e d d e p t h s i n j a r o f muck s o i l . INTRODUCTION TO EXPERIMENTS 5 AND 4 ........................................................... 26 EXPERIMENT 3 .............................................................................................................. S p r in g w h e a t : a . V a r i e d am ou nts and f o r m s o f n i t r o g e n ; d i f f e r e n t a m ou n ts o f p o t a s s i u m and s u g a r a p p l i e d w i t h and w i t h o u t c o p p e r . . 27 EXPERIMENT 4 ............................................................................................................... Sudan g r a s s : a . R e s p o n s e t o c o p p e r , p o t a s s i u m and c a l c i u m a s a p p l i e d a t v a r i e d a m o u n ts o n muck s o i l . Summary............................................................................................................... 29 EXPERIMENT 5 .................. S p r in g w h e a t : a . A p p l i c a t i o n o f d i f f e r e n t c o p p e r compounds t o muck s o i l . Summary............................................................................................................... 35 EXPERIMENT 6 ................................................... S p rin g w h ea t: a . S t e r i l i z a t i o n o f muck and cro p r e s p o n s e w i t h and w i t h o u t c o p p e r . Summary............................................................................................................... 40 35 37 42 Page EXPERIMENT 7 .................................................................................................................. S p r in g w h e a t : a . Y i e l d and c o m p o s i t i o n d u r i n g g r o w t h o f p l a n t w i t h and w i t h o u t c o p p e r . 1 . R e d u c in g s u g a r and n i t r o g e n r e l a t i o n s h i p s . 2 . Growth c u r v e s . Summary.................................................................................................................. 45 RESPONSE OF OATS TO COPPER...................................... 54 EXPERIMENTS....................... Corn: a . Copper d e f i c i e n c y a s i n f l u e n c e d b y t h e copper co n ten t o f seed p la n te d . 1 . Y i e l d and c o m p o s i t i o n o f s t a l k s and r o o t s . Summary................................................... 55 EXPERIMENT 9 . ............................................................................................................... T o m a to es: a . C om p arison o f y i e l d s and c o m p o s i t i o n o f c o p p e r t r e a t e d and n o n - t r e a t e d p l a n t s . 1 . Hormone u s e d t o s e t f r u i t . 2 . Hormone n o t u s e d . Summary.................................................................................................................. 68 EXPERIMENT 1 0 .............................................. Sugar b e e t s : a . C om p arison o f c o p p e r t r e a t e d and n o n - t r e a t e d p la n ts. 1 . Enzyme a c t i v i t y i n c u t b e e t r o o t . 78 GENERAL DISCUSSION 86 .......................................................................... 53 68 75 SUMMARY......................................................................................................... 91 LITERATURE CITED....................................................................................................... 93 ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1. 2. 5. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. Page R esp on se o f s p r in g w h ea t t o cop p er a s a p p lie d w it h v a r i e d r a t e s o f s i l i c i c a c i d t o muck s o i l . . . . . .................. 12 R e s p o n s e o f s p r i n g w h e a t t o c o p p e r . The w h e a t p r o ­ d u cin g h e a d s r e c e i v e d c o p p e r , t h o s e j a r s o f w h eat n o t p r o d u c i n g h e a d s d i d n o t r e c e i v e c o p p e r . . . , , ............. 17 R esponse o f s p r in g w h ea t t o c o p p e r . T rea tm en ts a r e l e f t t o r i g h t : ( 6 6 ) No f e r t i l i z e r - No c o p p e r , (6 7 ) No f e r t i l i z e r - C o p p er, (5 8 ) F e r t i l i z e r - NoC o p p e r . 17 R esponse o f s p r in g w h eat t o c o p p e r . T rea tm en ts are: ( L e f t ) No f e r t i l i z e r - No c o p p e r , ( C e n t e r ) No f e r t i ­ l i z e r - C opper a d d e d , ( R i g h t ) F e r t i l i z e r - Copper a d d e d ............................................................................. 18 D e v e lo p m e n t o f w h e a t h e a d s a s e f f e c t e d b y a c o p p e r a p p lic a tio n . ( L e f t ) No f e r t i l i z e r - No c o p p e r , ( C e n t e r ) F e r t i l i z e r - No c o p p e r , ( R i g h t ) F e r t i l i z e r Copper a d d e d ........................................................................................................ 19 P e r c e n t c o m p o s itio n o f e le m e n ts fou nd i n s p r in g w h e a t s t r a w a s a f f e c t e d b y v a r i e d c o p p e r and. s i l i c a c o n t e n t on muck s o i l ................................................................................ 20 R esponse o f s p r in g w heat to copper a s a p p lie d in v a r i o u s p o s i t i o n s i n j a r ...................................................................... 24 C om p arison b e t w e e n two w h e a t l e a v e s o n r i g h t s h o w in g c o p p e r d e f i c i e n c y sym ptom s; and two n o rm a l l e a v e s on l e f t .................................................................................................................. 25 R esponse o f s p r in g w h ea t to cop p er a s a p p lie d w ith v a r i o u s a m ou nts and k i n d o f f e r t i l i z e r t o muck s o i l . 28 R e s p o n s e o f su d an g r a s s t o c o p p e r , p o t a s s i u m and c a l c i u m a s a p p l i e d a t v a r i e d am o u n ts o n muck s o i l w i t h and w i t h o u t a h i g h l e v e l o f n i t r o g e n .......................... 30 C o p p e r -d e fic ie n t-su d a n g r a s s l e a v e s . The d a r k a r e a s on l e a v e s w e r e r e d i n c o l o r .............................................................. 33 R e s p o n s e o f sudan g r a s s t o c o p p e r and p o t a s s i u m . T r e a tm e n ts w e r e : (1 ) "Cu" p l u s "K", (2 ) "K” w i t h o u t "Cu", (3 ) "Cu" b u t no "K", ( 4 ) No "Cu" and no "K", (0 ) No f e r t i l i z e r a p p l i e d ................. 34 ag< R esponse o f s p r in g w heat to copper a f t e r d e v e lo p ­ i n g c o p p e r d e f i c i e n c y sy m p tom s. T rea tm en ts w ere: J a r (5 8 ) No c o p p e r , ( 1 9 ) r e c e i v e d c o p p e r o n e w eek and ( 2 9 ) r e c e i v e d c o p p e r two w e e k s b e f o r e t h i s p i c t u r e w a s t a k e n ..................................................................................... 36 R esponse o f c e l e r y t o c o p p e r . P l a n t s on l e f t show d y i n g - b a c k o f new g r o w t h , c o p p e r w a s n o t a p p lie d . The p l a n t s o n r i g h t r e c e i v e d c o p p e r and m a i n t a i n e d n o rm a l g r o w t h ................................................................... 36 R e s p o n s e o f s p r i n g w h e a t t o e q u i v a l e n t l y ad d ed d i f f e r e n t k in d s o f copper c o n t a in in g s u b s t a n c e s . . . . 39 R e s p o n s e o f s p r i n g w h e a t t o d i f f e r e n t c o p p e r com­ p o u n d s ................................................................................................................. 40 R e s p o n s e o f s p r i n g w h e a t t o c o p p e r grow n i n s t e r ­ i l i z e d and u n s t e r i l i z e d muck s o i l ............................................ 43 R esponse o f s p r in g w heat to copper a s e f f e c t e d by s t e r i l i z e d and n o n - s t e r i l i z e d muck s o i l . T reat­ m e n ts w e r e : (1 ) No Cu - N o t s t e r i l i z e d , ( 2 ) No Cu S t e r i l i z e d , ( 3 ) Cu - N o t s t e r i l i z e d , (4 ) Cu - S t e r ­ i l i z e d ................................................................ ................................... 44 C om p arison o f w h e a t k e r n e l s from p l a n t s grow n o n muck s o i l r e c e i v i n g c o p p e r ( l e f t ) and no c o p p e r added ( r i g h t ) ............................................................................................... 45 R e s p o n s e o f s p r i n g w h e a t t o c o p p e r ; (1 ) r e c e i v e d c o p p e r , (2 ) c o p p e r w as n o t a p p l i e d ......................................... 48 R e s p o n s e o f s p r i n g w h e a t t o c o p p e r a s m e a su r e d a t 7 and 10 d a y i n t e r v a l s t o g e t h e r w i t h p e r c e n t a g e n i t r o g e n and r e d u c i n g s u g a r c o n t e n t a t t h e s e i n t e r ­ v a l s . . .............................................................................................................. 50 I n d ir e c t d e te r m in a tio n o f c h lo r o p h y ll i n sp r in g w h e a t b y m ea su r e m e n t o f l i g h t t r a n s m i s s i o n . 52 C om parison b e t w e e n n o rm a l o a t l e a v e s ( l e f t ) , and c o p p e r - d e f i c i e n t o a t l e a v e s ( r i g h t ) ....................................... 55 Copper d e f i c i e n c y symptoms i n c o r n . N o t e f a i l u r e o f s e c o n d l e a f t o u n r o l l ................................................................... 56 Copper d e f i c i e n c y symptoms i n c o r n . N o t e s t i c k i n g t o g e t h e r o f t h r e e l e a v e s a t t o p ................................................. 56 Page Figure 26. 27. H y b r id c o r n p l a n t s grow n w i t h and w i t h o u t c o p p e r a p p l i e d t o a muck s o i l . T r e a t m e n t s w e r e : (1 ) No c o p p e r , (2 ) C o p p e r . The s e e d p l a n t e d w as r a i s e d on m i n e r a l s o i l w h ic h show ed no c o p p e r d e ­ f i c i e n c y ............................................................................................................. 57 R esponse Corn on copper. p la n tin g 59 o f co rn t o c o p p e r a p p l i e d t o a muck s o i l . t h e l e f t r e c e i v e d c o p p e r , o n t h e r i g h t no The c o r n u s e d i n b o t h t r e a t m e n t s f o r w as grow n o n a c o p p e r - d e f i c i e n t muck s o i l . 28. Corn l e a v e s from n o rm al and c o p p e r - d e f i c i e n t p l a n t s 29. C om p ariso n o f c o p p e r - d e f i c i e n t and n o r m a l c o r n l e a v e s ( I n c o l o r ) .......................... ............................................................ 63 Corn p l a n t s h o w in g c h a r a c t e r i s t i c c o p p e r d e f i c i e n c y s ym p tom s. N o t e c u r l i n g and s t i c k i n g t o g e t h e r o f l e a v e s .................. 64 C o m p a r a tiv e d i f f e r e n c e s b e t w e e n n o rm a l ( l e f t ) and c o p p e r - d e f ic ie n t corn p la n t s ( r ig h t ) a s to le n g th o f i n t e r n o d e s and d e v e l o p m e n t o f t a s s e l . . . ........................... 65 R e s p o n s e o f c o r n t o c o p p e r and v a r i a t i o n o f y i e l d s r e s u l t i n g fro m s o u r c e o f s e e d grown o n muck s o i l . . . 66 R e s p o n s e o f to m a to p l a n t s t o c o p p e r i n e a r l y s t a g e s o f grow th . C e n t e r j a r r e c e i v e d c o p p e r ; o t h e r s d id n o t ................................................................................................... 69 T h ree t r e a t m e n t s o f to m a to p l a n t s w h i c h r e c e i v e d hormone t o s e t f r u i t ................................................ 71 T h ree t r e a t m e n t s o f to m a to p l a n t s w h i c h d i d n o t r e c e i v e h o r m o n e ....................... .. ...................................... ........................ 71 F i r s t h a r v e s t o f t o m a t o e s w i t h and w i t h o u t c o p p e r , w i t h and w i t h o u t horm one s p r a y t o s e t f r u i t ( I n c o l o r ) .................... 72 Tomato f r u i t on c o p p e r - d e f i c i e n t p l a n t b e g i n n i n g t o show n e c r o t i c a r e a s i n t i s s u e ................................................. 72 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. Tomato f r u i t on c o p p e r - d e f i c i e n t p l a n t sh o w in g more a d v a n c e d s t a g e s o f n e c r o t i c a r e a s i n t i s s u e . . . Tomato f r u i t o n a c o p p e r - d e f i c i e n t p l a n t s h o w in g a to m a to o n t h e r i g h t w i t h d e f i n i t e n e c r o t i c a r e a s i n t i s s u e ................................... ............................................. ...................... 63 73 73 Figure 40. 41. 42. 45. 44. 45. 46. 47. Page Tomato f r u i t fr o m no c o p p e r and c o p p e r t r e a t m e n t s . L e f t - No c o p p e r a p p l i e d t o s o i l ( n o t e n e c r o t i c a rea s). R i g h t - C opper a p p l i e d .................... 74 L o n g i t u d i n a l s e c t i o n o f to m a to f r u i t from t r e a t ­ m e n ts : L e f t - No c o p p e r a p p l i e d t o s o i l ( n o t e t h e n atu re o f n e c r o t ic a r e a s ) . R i g h t - Copper a p p l i e d . 74 Number and w e i g h t o f t o m a t o e s p r o d u c e d a s v a r i e d b y a d d i t i o n o f c o p p e r and horm one s p r a y t o p l a n t s i n j a r s o f muck s o i l ............................................................................. 76 Tomato p l a n t s h o w in g c o p p e r d e f i c i e n c y i n l e a v e s . T h ese s p o t s a p p e a r e d w h i t e o r t r a n s l u c e n t ........................ 78 R e s p o n s e o f s u g a r b e e t s t o c o p p e r w hen gro w n on muck s o i l . . .......................................................................... 81 S u gar b e e t s grown on f e r t i l i z e d and n o n - f e r t i l i z e d muck s o i l w i t h and w i t h o u t c o p p e r ................. 82 Cut s u g a r a p p lie d to c o p p e r w as in absence b e e t r o o t s w i t h and w i t h o u t c o p p e r t h e s o i l , s h o w in g r e d c o l o r a t i o n w h e r e a p p lie d . Red c o l o r w a s n o t p r o d u c e d o f copper. ( I n c o l o r ) ............................................ 82 C ro ss s e c t i o n o f s u g a r b e e t s from c o p p e r and no c o p p e r t r e a t m e n t s ..................................................................................... 83 i TABLES Table 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. Page E f f e c t s o f tw o r a t e s o f c o p p e r and s e v e r a l r a t e s o f a p p l i c a t i o n o f s i l i c a on t h e p e r c e n t a g e c o n ­ t e n t o f c e r t a i n e l e m e n t s i n m a tu r e w h e a t ............................. 13 E f f e c t s o f two r a t e s o f c o p p e r and s e v e r a l r a t e s o f a p p lic a tio n o f s i l i c a on th e t o t a l c o n te n t o f c e r t a i n e l e m e n t s i n m a tu r e w h e a t . . ............................................ 14 The r e s p o n s e o f s p r i n g w h e a t t o c o p p e r l a y e r e d i n m id d le o f j a r a s compared t o c o p p e r m ix e d t h r o u g h ­ o u t s o i l .................................................................................................. 15 The e f f e c t o f c o p p e r , a p p l i e d a t d i f f e r e n t d e p t h s i n t h e s o i l , o n y i e l d and c o m p o s i t i o n o f s p r i n g w heat ( P e r c e n t a g e ) . ................................. 22 The e f f e c t o f c o p p e r , a p p l i e d a t d i f f e r e n t d e p t h s i n t h e s o i l , on y i e l d and c o m p o s itio n o f s p r in g w h e a t ( T o t a l ) ................................................................ 23 R e s p o n s e o f su d a n g r a s s t o c o p p e r , p o t a s s i u m and c a l c i u m a p p l i e d i n v a r i e d a m o u n ts on muck s o i l w i t h and w i t h o u t a h i g h l e v e l o f n i t r o g e n .......................... 31 R e s p o n s e o f s p r i n g w h e a t t o d i f f e r e n t k i n d s and r a t e o f a p p l i c a t i o n o f c o p p e r com pounds; t h e c o p p e r ad d ed i n e q u i v a l e n t a m o u n t s .............................................................. 38 R e s p o n s e o f s p r i n g w h e a t t o c o p p e r a s a f f e c t e d by s t e r i l i z e d and u n s t e r i l i z e d muck s o i l ..................................... 41 Y i e l d and c o m p o s i t i o n o f s p r i n g w h e a t a t d i f f e r e n t a g e s a s e f f e c t e d b y c o p p e r a p p l i c a t i o n s t o muck s o i l ......................................................................................................................... 51 R e s p o n s e o f o a t s t o c o p p e r g ro w n on a c o p p e r d e f i c i e n t muck s o i l . . . . ........................................................................ 54 V a r i a b i l i t y o f c o r n s e e d , grow n w i t h and w i t h o u t cop p er, as in f lu e n c in g th e p r o d u c tio n o f th e su c ­ c e e d i n g c r o p gro w n on a c o p p e r - d e f i c i e n t muck s o i l . . 58 Y i e l d and c o m p o s i t i o n o f c o r n s t a l k s a s e f f e c t e d b y s o u r c e o f s e e d p l a n t e d and a c o p p e r a p p l i c a t i o n t o t h e s o i l ....................................................................................................... 61 Y i e l d and c o m p o s i t i o n o f c o r n r o o t s a s e f f e c t e d by s o u r c e o f s e e d p l a n t e d and a c o p p e r a p p l i c a t i o n to th e s o i l ...................................................... 67 Table 14. 15. 16. Page Y i e l d and number o f S p a r t a n H y b r id t o m a t o e s a s e f f e c t e d by a p p l i c a t i o n o f c o p p e r t o muck s o i l and t h e u s e o f horm one s p r a y i n f r u i t s e t t i n g ............................................................................................................... 70 E f f e c t o f c o p p e r , w i t h and w i t h o u t h o rm o n e, on f o l i a g e g r o w t h and c o m p o s i t i o n o f t o m a t o e s grow n on muck s o i l ................................................................................... 77 The r e s p o n s e o f s u g a r b e e t s t o c o p p e r a s a p p l i e d t o a muck s o i l , and t h e e f f e c t o f c o p p e r o n t h e c h e m i c a l c o m p o s i t i o n o f s u g a r b e e t l e a v e s ...................... 84 1 THE INFLUENCE OF COPPER COMPOUNDS APPLIED TO MUCK SOIL ON THE YIELD, GROWTH PATTERN AND COMPOSITION OF CERTAIN CROPS INTRODUCTION P l a n t s grow n o n t h e a c i d muck s o i l s o f M i c h i g a n h a v e b e n e f i t e d from an a p p l i c a t i o n o f c o p p e r t o t h e s o i l . The p a r t w h ich cop p er o c c u p ie s i n t h e m e t a b o li c p r o c e s s e s o f th e se p la n ts h as n o t been e s t a b lis h e d . s t u d y w as t o The p u r p o s e o f t h i s i n v e s t i g a t e f u r t h e r t h e r o l e w h ic h c o p p e r t a k e s in p l a n t grow th . REVIEW OF LITERATURE The i m p o r t a n c e o f c o p p e r i n p l a n t and a n i m a l m e t a b o l i s m h a s b e e n e x p r e s s e d b y E lv e h j e m (1 5 ) as fo llo w s : "A c o m p le t e u n d ersta n d in g o f th e a c t io n o f copper w i l l b r in g u s d i s t i n c t l y n e a r e r an u n d e r sta n d in g o f t h e fu n d a m en ta l p r o c e s s e s i n l i v i n g m a tter” . E lv e h j e m (1 5 ) r e p o r t s M i e s s n e r i n 1 8 1 7 a s p r o b a b l y t h e f i r s t w o r k e r t o show t h a t c o p p e r a c t u a l l y was a c o n s t i t u e n t o f p la n ts. L a te r S a rzea u (1830) fo u n d c o p p e r i n num erous p l a n t s and d e t e r m i n e d t h e amount q u a n t i t a t i v e l y . D isch a m p s (1848) The work o f i n th e f u r t h e r stu d y o f v e g e t a b le s r e v e a le d th a t a r e la tio n sh ip e x i s t e d b e t w e e n t h e c o p p e r i n p l a n t s and t h a t i n t h e s o i l on w h ic h t h e y w e r e grow n; w h i l e C h e v r e u l ( 1 8 6 8 ) , i n a m ore g e n e r a l s t a t e m e n t , s u g g e s t e d t h a t c o p p e r w as q u i t e w id e ly d is t r ib u t e d in o r g a n ic m a tte r . E lv e h je m (15) f u r t h e r r e p o r t s t h e w ork o f Maquenne and Demoussy, and F l e u r e n t and L e v i (1920) as e s t a b lis h in g w ith o u t q u e s tio n th e u n iv e r s a l d i s t r i b u t i o n o f copper in p la n t l i f e . Maquenne and D em ou ssy fo u n d 3 t o 40 p . p . m . o f c o p p e r i n a l l t h e p l a n t m a t e r i a l s t h e y a n a l y z e d and s u g g e s t e d t h a t c o p p e r m u st b e an e s s e n t i a l e l e m e n t i n p l a n t m e t a b o l i s m . The f a c t t h a t c o p p e r w a s fo u n d i n t h e m ore a c t i v e t i s s u e s o f t h e p l a n t e . g . y o u n g s h o o t s and l e a v e s , l e d - them t o c o n c l u d e t h a t c o p p e r i n some way a i d e d i n t h e v i t a l f u n c t i o n s o f t h e p l a n t s . B a i n (5 ) above i t s i n 1902 r e p o r t s t h e b e n e f i c i a l a c t i o n fu n g ic id a l e f f e c t s ) ( o v e r and o f Bordeaux m ix tu r e u sed a s a spray on th e f o l i a g e o f p l a n t s . The o u t s t a n d i n g r e s u l t s s e ­ c u r e d i n some c a s e s fro m t h e u s e o f B o r d e a u x r e s u l t e d i n i t s gen eral a ccep tan ce. H o w ev er, t h e im m e d ia t e c a u s e o f t h i s b e n e f i c i a l a c t i o n and i t s mode o f o p e r a t i o n had t o b e e s t a b ­ lish e d . He c i t e s e x p e r i m e n t s w i t h p e a c h l e a v e s i n w h ic h c o p p e r w a s a p p l i e d t o t h e l e a f i n s p o t s o v e r n i g h t and t h e r e was d i s ­ t i n c t l y more s t a r c h u n d e r e a c h o f t h e s e s p o t s . He c o n t r i b u t e s t h is g r e a te r sta r c h co n ten t to th e g r e a te r c h lo r o p h y ll con ten t o f t h e p l a n t w h e r e c o p p e r w as a p p l i e d . Lutman ( 3 6 ) n o t e d t h a t t h e i n c r e a s e i n y i e l d o f p o t a t o e s w as d i r e c t l y p r o p o r t i o n a l t o t h e amount o f c o p p e r s u l f a t e u s e d . A t a b l e i s g i v e n sh o w in g y i e l d s o f p o t a t o e s from s p r a y e d d ea u x m i x t u r e ) and u n s p r a y e d p l o t s fr o m 1 8 9 1 t o 1 9 1 1 . (B o r ­ The s p r a y e d p o t s h ad an a v e r a g e y i e l d o f 2 6 3 b u s h e l s a s com pared t o 1 59 b u s h e l s p e r a c r e f o r t h e u n s p r a y e d . He a l s o n o t e d t h a t th e a p p l i c a t i o n o f Bordeaux m ix tu r e b ro u g h t about a d a i l y i n c r e a s e i n t h e amount o f s t a r c h p r o d u c e d p e r p l a n t . F l o y d ( 2 0 ) r e p o r t s d i e b a c k o r e x a n th em a a s o n e o f t h e m o st i m p o r t a n t o f t h e d i s e a s e s o f c i t r u s t r e e s . The s e v e r i t y o f t h e d i s e a s e was i n c r e a s e d w i t h i n c r e a s i n g a m o u n ts o f o r g a n ­ i c m a tter in th e s o i l or la r g e a p p lic a t io n s o f n itr o g e n o u s fe r tiliz e r s. Copper s u l f a t e a p p l i e d t o t h e s o i l w a s fo u n d to c o r r e c t t h i s d i s e a s e . Upon e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f t h e F l o r i d a E v e r g l a d e s E x p e r im e n t S t a t i o n i n 1 9 2 3 , p o o r p l a n t , g r o w th w as r a t h e r g e n e r a l on t h e E x p e r im e n t S t a t i o n s o i l s , o f th e E v e r g la d e s . summer o f 1 9 2 5 . a s w e l l a s on o t h e r raw p e a t s o i l s The f i r s t c o r r e c t i v e w ork w a s d o n e i n t h e T h i s w o rk , r e p o r t e d b y B ry a n ( 8 ) , show s t h e marked s t i m u l a t i n g i n f l u e n c e o f c o p p e r and m a n g a n e se on t h e p ea t s o i l s o f th e F lo r id a E v e r g la d e s . The s t i m u l a t i n g a c t i o n o f b o t h c o p p e r and m a n g a n e se seem ed t o b e c l o s e l y a s s o c i a t e d w ith c h lo r o p h y ll d e v e lo p m e n t. The g r e e n c o l o r a t i o n , p resu m ­ a b l y due t o an i n c r e a s e i n c h l o r o p h y l l , w a s p r o d u c e d w i t h i n te n days a f t e r trea tm en t. The p l a n t s r e c e i v i n g c o p p e r and m a n g a n e se p r o d u c e d m a tu r e s e e d , w h i l e t h e u n t r e a t e d o n e s f a i l e d e n tir e ly . F e lix T hese s o i l s (18) c o n t a i n e d fro m 1 . 5 t o 10 p e r c e n t i r o n . fo u n d t h e a d d i t i o n o f c o p p e r s u l f a t e made p o s ­ s i b l e t h e g r o w th o f o n i o n s and l e t t u c e o n u n p r o d u c t i v e p e a t s o i l s o f New Y o r k . Harmer ( 2 3 ) h a s fo u n d c o p p e r s u l f a t e m a r k e d ly b e n e f i c i a l o n t h e more a c i d mucks o f M i c h i g a n . C rop s m o s t r e s p o n s i v e in c lu d e d l e t t u c e , sp in a c h , d i l l , w h eat, su d a n g r a s s , okra, c a r r o t s , o n i o n s , p o t a t o e s and t o m a t o e s . Copper h a s a l s o b e e n fo u n d t o h a v e a m ark ed s t i m u l a t i n g i n f l u e n c e i n a n im a l l i f e . S lv eh jem (15) r e p o r t s H a r le s s i n 1 8 4 7 a s d e t e c t i n g c o p p e r i n t h e b l o o d o f m a r in e a n i m a l s and s h o w in g t h a t i t w ith p r o t e in . e x i s t s n o t a s a f r e e s a l t , b u t i n c o m b in a t i o n T h i s c o p p e r - c o n t a i n i n g p r o t e i n w h i c h w as named h e m o c y a n in b y F r e d e r i c ^ (1878) is a p p a r e n t l y an o x y g e n c a r r i e r a n a l o g o u s t o t h e h e m o g lo b in o f h i g h e r a n i m a l s . R o s e and B o d a n sk y (4 1 ) made a q u a n t i t a t i v e s t u d y o f t h e c o p p e r i n 35 m a r in e a n i m a l s . The amount o f c o p p e r i n t h e o r ­ g a n i s m s w as e x a m in e d f r e q u e n t l y and w a s f o u n d t o d i m i n i s h a s t h e a n i m a l s a s c e n d e d from t h e c o m p a r a t i v e l y s i m p l e t o t h e m ore c o m p le x . The f a c t o r s c o n t r o l l i n g t h e a f f i n i t i e s o f h e m o g lo b i n and h e m o c y a n in f o r o x y g e n a r e r e p o r t e d b y E lv e h j e m (1 5 ) a s b ein g t h e sam e, and t h a t t h e s e b l o o d p i g m e n t s a r e n o t f u n d a m e n t a l l y d i f f e r e n t b e c a u s e o n e c o n t a i n s i r o n and t h e o t h e r c o p p e r . A lso , t h a t t h e v a r i a t i o n i n t h e a f f i n i t y o f i n d i v i d u a l hem o- c y a n i n s f o r o x y g e n i s u n d o u b t e d l y d e p e n d e n t upon t h e p h y s i c o ­ c h e m ic a l ch an ges t a k in g p l a c e i n th e p r o t e i n p a r t o f th e m o le ­ cu le . The c h e m i c a l r e l a t i o n s h i p and h e m o g lo b in i s e x i s t i n g betw een c h lo r o p h y ll r e p o r t e d b y O r t h , W ic k w ir e and B u r g e ( 3 9 ) . One p o i n t o f d i f f e r e n c e h o w e v e r , is t h a t m agn esiu m i s th e e l e ­ m en t i n c h l o r o p h y l l c o r r e s p o n d i n g t o i r o n i n t h e h e m o g lo b i n . E lv e h j e m and Sherman (1 7 ) show ed t h a t c o p p e r d o e s n o t in flu e n c e ir o n a s s im ila t io n but i t is in d is p e n s a b le f o r th e t r a n s f o r m a t i o n o f t h e a b s o r b e d i r o n i n t o b l o o d h e m o g lo b i n . T h e i r r e s u l t s show ed t h a t i n t h e a b s e n c e o f c o p p e r , i n o r g a n i c i r o n i s r e a d i l y a s s i m i l a t e d and s t o r e d i n t h e l i v e r and s p l e e n of ra ts. The i r o n so s t o r e d c a n n o t b e u s e d f o r h e m o g lo b in fo rm a tio n u n t i l cop p er i s su p p lie d . A fte r copper i s su p p lie d t h e g r e a t e r p a r t o f t h e i r o n i n t h e l i v e r i s r em o v ed and b u i l t i n t o h e m o g lo b in o f t h e b l o o d . C op p er a s r e p o r t e d h e r e i s n o t n e c e ssa r y fo r ir o n a s sim u la tio n b u t i t i s n e c e s sa r y f o r th e s y n t h e s i s o f h e m o g lo b in . A s i m i l a r e x p e r im e n t c a r r i e d o u t b y E lv e h j e m and H a r t (1 6 ) on y o u n g c h i c k s g a v e c o m p a r a b le r e s u l t s . Cook and S p i l l e s (1 1 ) show ed t h a t t h e a d d i t i o n o f c o p p e r t o an i r o n - l o w d i e t o f r a t s r e s u l t e d i n a d e p l e t i o n o f t h e r e se r v e ir o n in th e sp le e n . C opper h a s a l s o b e e n fo u n d p r e s e n t i n c e r t a i n enzyme system s. O x i d a t i v e en zy m es t h a t c o n t a i n c o p p e r a r e d i v i d e d i n t o two g r o u p s b y B a l l (6 ) a c c o r d i n g t o t h e i r s u b s t r a t e s . One g r o u p w o u ld c o n t a i n t h o s e en zy m es w h i c h o x i d i z e mono o r p o ly p h e n o ls, c o rb ic a c id . th e o th e r , t h o s e en zym es w h o s e s u b s t r a t e i s a s ­ Enzymes i n o n e g ro u p do n o t a p p e a r t o b e a b l e to c a ta ly z e th e o x id a tio n o f th e s u b s tr a te fo r th e o th er group, how ever, en zym es o f b o t h g r o u p s p r e s u m a b l y c a t a l y z e t h e o x i ­ d a t io n o f t h e i r s u b s t r a t e s by r e a s o n o f th e change o f copper from t h e c u p r i c t o t h e c u p r o u s fo r m , t h e l a t t e r b e i n g r e o x i ­ d ized by oxygen . In a p ro p o se d c l a s s i f i c a t i o n o f th e c h e m ic a l e le m e n ts 6 by T h a tch er ( 4 5 ) , he b e l i e v e s t h e r e i s e v id e n c e to s u f f i c i e n t e x p erim en ta l j u s t i f y t h e h y p o t h e s i s t h a t m a n g a n e se and i r o n , c o p p e r and z i n c a r e two p a i r s o f m u t a l l y c o o r d i n a t i n g c a t a ­ l y s t s fo r o x id a tio n -r e d u c tio n r e a c tio n s; th e form er, f o r b i o ­ l o g i c a l r e a c t i o n s i n w h ic h t h e a d d i t i o n o r r e m o v a l o f o x y g e n i s t h e b a s i s o f t h e e n e r g y e x c h a n g e and t h e l a t t e r , i n w h ic h l o s s o r g a i n o f h y d r o g e n i s fo r th ose in v o lv e d . An i n t e r e s t i n g p a p e r b y S h e a r , Crane and M y ers (4 2 ) o n th e n u t r ie n t e le m e n t b a la n c e , a s a fu nd am en tal c o n c e p t i n p la n t n u tr it io n , a d d s a d d i t i o n a l i m p o r t a n c e t o t h e r o l e any on e e l e m e n t may p l a y i n p l a n t n u t r i t i o n . Shear, e t a l . p o in t o u t th a t th e c o n c e n tr a tio n o f s a l t s i n l e a v e s i s r e g u l a t e d b y t h e a b s o r p t i o n p o w er o f t h e r o o t s . The g r o w th o f t h e w h o le p l a n t , i n c l u d i n g t h e f o r m a t i o n o f seed s, is a g a in c o n t r o lle d by th e t r a n s f o m a t io n o f th e n u t r i­ en t s a l t s a s th e y are a s s im u la te d by th e g reen l e a v e s . a n a ly sis i s an i n t e g r a t i o n o f a l l c i r c u m s t a n c e s w h ic h i n f l u e n c e th e a v a i l a b i l i t y o f th e s a l t s au th ors, fie ld Leaf in th e s o i l . Q u o t in g t h e a b o v e " I t h as b een th e e x p e r ie n c e o f th e a u t h o r s , b o th under and g r e e n h o u s e c o n d i t i o n s , t h a t t h e r e a r e no symptoms t h e c a u s e o f w h ic h c a n b e a c c u r a t e l y d i a g n o s e d v i s u a l l y " . They h o l d f u r t h e r t h a t m agnesium d e f i c i e n c y may r e s u l t from an e x c e s s a c c u m u l a t i o n o f p o t a s s i u m i n t h e l e a v e s . C a lc iu m o r m agnesium a c c u m u l a t i o n o r a c o m b in a t i o n o f b o t h may p r o d u c e p o ta ss iu m d e f i c i e n c y . E xcess o f p h osp h ate, c o p p e r and z i n c o r o f m a n g a n e se and c o b a l t ; o r t o o lo w a l e v e l o f p o t a s s i u m , m agnesium o r c a l c i u m i n r e l a t i o n t o e i t h e r o r b o t h o f t h e o t h e r s , may c a u s e i r o n d e f i c i e n c y . A l l o t h e r f a c t o r s b e i n g c o n s t a n t , p l a n t g r o w th i s f u n c t i o n o f two v a r i a b l e s o f n u t r i t i o n (4 2 ), a i n t e n s i t y and b a la n c e , as t h e y a re r e f l e c t e d in t h e c o m p o sitio n o f l e a v e s w hen t h e p l a n t s a r e i n t h e same s t a g e s o f g r o w t h o r d e v e l o p ­ m en t. Maximum g r o w t h and y i e l d o c c u r o n l y u p on t h e c o i n ­ c i d e n c e o f optimum i n t e n s i t y and b a l a n c e . I n t e r p r e t a t io n o f th e n itr o g e n c o n te n t o f l e a v e s in term s o f th e n i t r o g e n when n i t r o g e n i s t o w h ic h i t s w ords, i f sta tu s o f p la n ts i s su p p lie d , it c o m p lic a te d in t h a t , a c c u m u la te s o n l y to t h e e x t e n t a v a i l a b l e s u p p ly w i l l p e r m i t g r o w t h . In oth er t h e i n t e n s i t y and b a l a n c e o f t h e o t h e r e l e m e n t s a r e f a v o r a b l e f o r a h i g h g ro w th p o t e n t i a l , g r o w t h w i l l b e i n p r o ­ p o r t i o n t o t h e a v a i l a b l e n i t r o g e n s u p p l y and a c c u m u l a t i o n o f n itr o g e n w i l l be p reven ted by i t s u t i l i z a t i o n grow th . in a d d itio n a l A s p e c i f i c exa m p le o f t h e e f f e c t o f an e s s e n t i a l e l e m e n t , n a m e ly c o p p e r , on t h e a c c u m u la t i o n and u t i l i z a t i o n o f n itr o g e n , c a n b e c i t e d fro m t h e w o r k o f G i l b e r t , D ro sd o ff ( 2 1 ). S e l l and They s t a t e t h a t n i t r o g e n a p p l i c a t i o n s t o t u n g t r e e s i n e a r ly s ta g e s o f copper d e f ic ie n c y f a i l e d to in c r e a se l i n e a r grow th , b u t g r e a t l y in c r e a s e d th e in c id e n c e o f copper d e fic ie n c y . I t h a s b een d e f i n i t e l y e s t a b l i s h e d t h a t copper i s essen ­ t i a l f o r p l a n t grow th i n a g e n e r a l r e v ie w o f t h e l i t e r a t u r e o n t h i s s u b j e c t b y Sommer (4 3 ) . EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE A c o p p e r - d e f i c i e n t muck s o i l w a s o b t a i n e d fro m t h e M ic h ig a n S t a t e C o l l e g e E x p e r i m e n t a l Muck Farm. T h i s w as a v i r g i n muck w h i c h had n e v e r b e e n f e r t i l i z e d . The muck c o n s i s t e d ' o f 86 p e r c e n t o r g a n i c m a t t e r , had a pH v a l u e o f a p p r o x i m a t e l y 6 . 0 and c o n t a i n e d 3 . 5 p e r c e n t t o t a l n i t r o g e n , .2 1 p e r c e n t p o t a s s iu m , c e n t c a lc iu m , .1 2 p e r c e n t p h o sp h o ru s, 2 . 5 p e r . 2 7 p e r c e n t m a g n e siu m , .0 0 1 1 p e r c e n t c o p p e r . 1 . 3 p e r c e n t i r o n and U n l e s s o t h e r w i s e i n d i c a t e d t h i s muck was u s e d t h r o u g h o u t t h e f o l l o w i n g e x p e r i m e n t s and a l l trea t­ m e n ts w e r e made i n t r i p l i c a t e o r q u a d r u p l i c a t e . The f e r t i l i z e r u s e d c o n s i s t e d o f a 3 - 9 - 1 8 a p p l i e d a t th e r a t e o f 3000 l b s . p e r a c r e i n a l l c a s e s e x c e p t w here i n ­ d ic a te d in s p e c i a l e x p e r im e n ts. The m a j o r e l e m e n t s w e r e a p p l i e d i n t h e form o f c h e m i c a l l y p u r e p o t a s s i u m - d i - p h o s p h a t e , p o t a s s i u m n i t r a t e and p o t a s s i u m c h l o r i d e . The m i c r o - n u t r i e n t e l e m e n t s w e r e a p p l i e d i n a l l e x p e r i ­ m en ts u n l e s s o t h e r w is e i n d i c a t e d a s f o l l o w s : F e r r ic s u lfa te 50 l b s . / A . , c o b a l t o u s a c e t a t e 25 l b s . / A . , m an ganous a c e t a t e 50 l b s . / a . , z i n c a c e t a t e 25 l b s . / A . , b o r i c a c i d 25 l b s . / a . , c a l c i u m o x i d e 2 0 0 l b s . / A . and c o p p e r s u l f a t e 2 0 0 l b s . / A . The term c o p p e r w i l l b e u s e d t h r o u g h o u t t h i s e x p e r i m e n t t o mean copper s u lf a t e u n le s s o th e r w ise s t a t e d . T h e s e c o n s t i t u e n t s w e r e a l l w e i g h e d o u t s e p a r a t e l y and m ix e d t h o r o u g h l y w i t h s i x th o u s a n d gram s o f muck s o i l o f u n i ­ form m o i s t u r e c o n t e n t , w h ic h was t h e n p l a c e d i n t w o - g a l l o n g la z e d ja rs. In one ex p erim en t w i t h c o rn f o u r - g a l l o n jars w e r e u s e d e m p lo y in g t w e l v e t h o u s a n d gram s o f s o i l . T h is p r o c e d u r e was u s e d t h r o u g h o u t t h e s e e x p e r i m e n t s i n an a t t e m p t t o o b t a i n a s much u n i f o r m i t y a s p o s s i b l e . F o r e a c h e x p e r i m e n t new v i r g i n muck w i t h t h e a b o v e s t a t e d f e r t i l i z e r a p p l i c a t i o n s was u s e d . Every p r e c a u t io n w as ta k en to a v o id c o n ta m in a tio n o f j a r s w it h c o p p e r . The c r o p i n e a c h j a r was h a r v e s t e d , w e i g h e d and im ­ m e d ia te ly d r ie d in a h o t a i r o v en . A f t e r d ry in g th e crop w a s w e ig h e d a g a i n and t h e l o s s i n m o i s t u r e d e t e r m i n e d . In t h e f i r s t two e x p e r i m e n t s a n a l y s e s w e r e made o f t h e p l a n t s from e a c h j a r . Each j a r c o n t a i n e d an e q u a l number o f p l a n t s a n d , i n m o s t e x p e r i m e n t s u s i n g w h e a t , t h e number o f p l a n t s w as m a in ta in e d a t f i f t e e n . In th e ex p erim en ts f o llo w in g th e tw o m e n t i o n e d a b o v e , t h e p l a n t m a t e r i a l fro m e a c h j a r w as w e ig h e d s e p a r a t e l y , and t h o s e from t h e r e p l i c a t e d t r e a t m e n t s w e r e c o m p o s it e d and gro u n d i n a W i l e y m i l l t o p a s s t h r o u g h a 20 m esh s i e v e . T h i s m a t e r i a l w as u s e d i n t h e d e t e r m i n a t i o n o f some o f t h e e l e m e n t s o f t h e p l a n t . A l l p l a n t m a t e r i a l w a s t h o r o u g h l y g r o u n d and m ix e d b e f o r e s a m p le s w e r e t a k e n . A t h r e e - g r a m s a m p le o f t h e p l a n t m a t e r i a l r e p r e s e n t i n g e a c h t r e a t m e n t w as a s h e d , t h e a s h h e a t e d g e n t l y w i t h HC1 f o r o n e - h a l f h o u r and t h e n f i l t e r e d . w a s d i l u t e d t o 20 0 c c . th is d ilu tio n . n itr o g e n . The f i l t r a t e A l i q u o t s f o r a n a l y s i s w e r e t a k e n from S e p a r a t e s a m p le s w e r e u s e d i n d e t e r m i n i n g t o t a l The a b o v e p r o c e d u r e h o l d s t r u e f o r a l l in t h is in v e s tig a tio n . e x p erim en ts M eth od s o f a n a l y s i s u s e d i n t h e s e e x p e r i m e n t s w e r e a s fo llo w s : (1 ) S i l i c a - a c c o r d i n g t o P i p e r , C. S . 1 9 4 4 S o i l and p la n t a n a ly s is . I n te r s c ie n c e P u b lish e r s, In c . N. Y. 2 6 3 -265. (2) C opper - C arbam ate m eth o d 1 9 4 0 M eth od s o f A n a l y s i s A s s o c , o f O ff . A gr. C h em ists, F i f t h E d it io n 1 2 2 . (3) I r o n - T h i o c y n a t e m eth o d 1 9 4 0 M eth od s o f A n a l y s i s A s so c , o f O ff. A gr. C h em ists, F i f t h E d it io n 12 6. (4 ) N i t r o g e n - K j e l d a h l M ethod 1 94 0 M eth od s o f A n a l y s i s A s s o c , o f O ff. A gr. C h e m ists, F i f t h E d it io n 26-27. ( 5 ) P o t a s s i u m - a c c o r d i n g t o t h e D e t e r m i n a t i o n o f Ex­ ch a n g e a b le P o ta ssiu m i n S o i l s u s in g H e x a n itr o d y p h e n y la m in e b y L a w ton , K. 1945 S o i l S c i . o f A m e r ic a 1 0 : 1 2 6 - 1 2 8 . (6 ) P h o s p h o r u s - u s i n g ammonium m o ly b d a t e and F i s k e Subbarow r e d u c i n g a g e n t . The c o l o r i m e t r i c d e ­ t e r m i n a t i o n o f p h o s p h o r u s b y F i s k e , C . H. and Subbarow , Y . 1925 J o u r . B i o l . Chem. 66: 375-400. (7 ) C a lc iu m - a c c o r d i n g t o P e e c h , M. and E n g l i s h , L. 1 9 4 4 " M ic r o c h e m ic a l S o i l T e s t s ” S o i l S c i e n c e 57: 1 6 7 -1 9 5 . (8 ) M agnesium - a c c o r d i n g t o P e e c h , M. and E n g l i s h , L. 1 9 4 4 T i t a n Y e l l o w p r o c e d u r e . M i c r o c h e m ic a l S o il T ests. S o il S c ie n c e 57: 1 6 7 - 1 9 5 . (9 ) R e d u c in g s u g a r - a c c o r d i n g t o ”A s t u d y o f m e th o d s f o r t h e d e te r m in a t io n o f su g a r i n crop p la n ts " By W a ld ro n , D. R . , B a l l , C. D . , M i l l e r , E . I . and B e n n e , E. J . 1948 Jour, o f th e A sso c , o f A gr. C h e m is t s 3 1 : 7 0 8 - 7 1 4 . The r e s u l t s o f t h e a n a l y s i s made a r e r e p o r t e d i n t a b l e form a p p e a r i n g w i t h e a c h e x p e r i m e n t . EXPERIMENT 1 T h i s e x p e r i m e n t w a s s e t up a s d e s c r i b e d a b o v e w i t h t h e o b j e c t i v e o f n o t i n g t h e g r o w t h h a b i t s o f p l a n t s w i t h and w i t h o u t c o p p e r ad d ed t o t h e s o i l . O th e r v a r i a b l e s i n c l u d e d : (1) D i f f e r e n t w ays o f a p p l y i n g c o p p e r t o t h e s o i l a s u s e d by W i l l i s and P i l a n d (4 7 ) w h ic h l e d t o t h e q u e s t i o n i n t h e i r w o rk a s t o w h e t h e r c o p p e r w a s e f f e c t i v e i n t h e s o i l o r i n th e p l a n t s . In t h e i r stu d y th e y a p p lie d copper h a lf-w a y down i n t h e s o i l o f t h e j a r s . In t h i s ex p e r im e n t t h e f o l l o w i n g v a r i a t i o n s w ere used: (a) Copper w as a p p l i e d h a l f - w a y down i n t h e j a r . (b ) Copper w as m ix e d t h o r o u g h l y i n (c) (2) th e s o i l . C opper n o t a p p l i e d . S ilic ic a c i d w a s a p p l i e d i n i n c r e a s i n g a m o u n ts from 2 5 p ou n d s up t o and i n c l u d i n g 5 0 0 0 p o u n d s p e r a c r e f o r t h e p u r p o s e o f o b s e r v i n g any e f f e c t i t m i g h t h a v e on t h e a v a i l ­ a b i l i t y o f th e co p p er. Each t r e a t m e n t was t r i p l i c a t e d i n t w o - g a l l o n j a r s co n ­ t a i n i n g 6 0 0 0 gram s o f muck s o i l and 3 0 0 0 p o u n d s p e r a c r e o f 3 -9 -1 8 f e r t i l i z e r p lu s th e m ic r o -n u tr ie n t e le m e n ts. A ll tr e a t­ m e n ts r e c e i v e d 2 00 pou n d s o f c a l c i u m h y d r o x i d e e x c e p t t r e a t m e n t tw en ty -o n e. i n E ig u r e 1 . A d e s c r i p t i o n o f t r e a t m e n t s and y i e l d s T a b l e s 1 , 2 and o f t h e w h e a t s t r a w and h e a d s . s o i l , no h e a d s w e r e p r o d u c e d . are g iv e n 3 show t h e r e s u l t s o f t h e a n a ly sis W here c o p p e r w as n o t u s e d i n t h e T h u s, no c o m p a r is o n s can b e made w i t h t h e w e i g h t and c o m p o s i t i o n o f t h e h e a d s p r o d u c e d w h ere z (9 I WHEAT STRAW □ WHEAT HEADS 0 > NO COPPER APPLIED M > COPPER MIXED IN SOIL L ■ COPPER IN LAYER HALF WAY DOWN IN JAR TREATMENTS 21-M NO CALCIUM CARBONATE APPLIED 2 2 -N NO FE R T ILIZ E R APPLIED 23-M NO MANGANESE APPLIED 2 5 -M NO MICRO ELEM ENTS APPLIED ALL OTHER TREATMENTS REGEIVED 3 0 0 0 lb*. EQUIVALENT 3 - 9 - 1 8 PLUS MICRO ELEM ENTS 70 UJ 3 >E S 60 E « SI 5 0 z 4 E in <9 < UJ 40 30 z 3 20 10 CuS04= l-M 2-L SI02 X I^0*25lb*. 25 ll-L 12-0 13-M 14-L 15-0 16-M 17-0 18-M 19-0 5 0 0 5 0 0 1000 1000 1000 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 TREATMENTS Fig. 1 RESPONSE OF SPRING WHEAT TO COPPER AS APPLIED WITH VARIED RATES OF SILICIC ACID TO MUCK SOIL 21-M 22-0 3000 0 23-M 24-M 2 5 -0 2000 0 2000 TABLE 1 E f f e c t s o f two r a t e s o f c o p p e r and s e v e r a l r a t e s o f a p p l i c a t i o n o f s i l i c a t h e p e r c e n t a g e c o n t e n t o f c e r t a i n e l e m e n t s i n m atu re w h e a t Y i e l d gms. T r e a tm e n ts dry w t. L b s ./A . Cu Si S tra w H ds. T o t a l Ash Per c e n t c o m p o sitio n in stra w Cu Pe Si N K P Ca Mg % Cu on i n heads N K 200 25 56 38 94 2 .6 8 .0 0 1 8 . 0 1 1 .4 5 .3 1 .5 6 .0 9 .2 8 .0 7 .0 0 5 0 1 .5 5 .4 3 200 100 52 36 88 2 .8 2 .0 0 1 2 .0 0 9 .1 9 .2 9 .2 4 .1 0 .2 0 .1 1 .0 0 5 2 1 .4 7 .6 0 200 250 64 . 42 106 2 .5 6 .0 0 1 6 .0 1 1 .2 6 .3 0 .2 5 .0 8 .2 1 .1 0 .0 0 5 3 1 .4 5 .5 3 200 500 41 106 2 .9 6 .0 0 1 6 .0 9 .2 2 .1 0 39 96 .3 1 .5 5 .3 0 1000 .0 1 2 2 . 8 8 . 0 0 1 2 .0 1 0 .3 2 200 65 57 .3 1 .2 5 .0 8 .2 3 .1 1 .0 0 5 2 .0 0 6 1 1 .5 6 1 .5 3 .5 2 .5 5 200 2000 61 41 102 4 .3 3 .0 0 0 4 . 0 0 2 3 . 5 8 .3 6 .2 0 .0 4 .0 8 .0 5 .0 0 6 2 1 .5 5 .4 9 200 5000 66 35 101 5 .0 1 .0 0 0 7 .0 0 2 3 .9 7 .3 3 .2 0 .0 7 .0 8 .0 3 .0 0 5 3 1 .5 9 .4 6 200 None 62 43 105 2 .5 7 .0 0 1 3 .0 1 2 .6 6 .3 1 .3 9 .0 8 .1 2 .0 0 4 8 1 .5 4 .5 1 25 12 0 12 1 4 .3 0 .0 0 2 2 .0 2 6 1 . 7 2 4 . 0 7 6 . 2 7 .9 1 .6 5 .3 4 0 100 12 0 12 1 5 .9 6 . 0 0 2 7 .0 2 0 1 . 7 1 3 . 9 5 4 . 4 2 .7 8 .5 8 0 250 10 0 10 1 5 .6 6 .0 0 2 2 . 0 2 3 2 . 1 6 4 . 5 6 5 . 3 4 .9 9 .7 1 .3 0 0 500 8 0 8 1 7 .9 9 .0 0 1 7 . 0 2 9 2 . 3 0 4 . 5 1 4 . 9 6 1 . 0 0 .7 2 .3 0 0 1000 12 0 12 1 6 .5 2 . 0 0 3 1 .0 2 0 3 . 2 5 4 . 1 7 5 . 5 2 .9 2 .6 1 . 3 0 0 2000 12 0 12 2 0 . 3 3 .0 0 2 6 . 0 2 1 8 . 6 5 3 . 8 1 5 . 6 3 1 . 0 2 • 66 . 3 0 0 3000 14 0 14 2 0 .5 9 .0 0 2 4 .0 2 1 8 .5 5 3 .9 2 6 .3 7 0 None 14 0 14 1 3 .8 6 .0 0 1 7 . 0 2 6 .5 4 4 .0 7 5 .4 6 .9 4 .5 9 .3 4 0 None# 23 5 28 4 .5 7 .0 0 1 8 .0 1 5 .6 8 1 .8 4 .1 5 .8 9 N>Cu * No fertilizer used .1 4 .1 1 .2 8 No h e a d s prodiosd .8 1 .5 4 .2 5 .4 9 .0 0 2 1 3 .0 1 - TABLE 2 E ffects o f two r a t e s o f c o p p e r and s e v e r a l r a t e s o f a p p l i c a t i o n o f s i l i c a on t h e t o t a l c o n t e n t of c e r t a i n e l e m e n t s i n m atu re w h eat Y i e l d gms. T r e a tm e n ts dry w t. L b s ./A . Straw H ds. T o t a l Cu Si Mk .0 4 T o ta l con ten t i n h ea d s N K Cu .0 0 1 9 . 5 9 . 1 6 200 25 56 38 94 T o t a l c o n t e n t i n s t r a w (g m s. } Ash Cu Fe Si N K P Ca 1 . 4 9 .0 0 1 0 . 0 0 6 .2 5 .1 7 .3 1 .0 5 .1 6 200 100 52 36 88 1 .4 6 .0 0 0 6 .0 0 5 .1 0 .1 5 .1 2 .0 5 .1 0 .0 6 .0 0 1 9 .5 3 .2 2 200 250 64 42 106 1 .6 5 .0 0 1 0 .0 0 7 .1 7 .1 9 .1 6 .0 5 .1 4 .0 6 .0 0 2 2 . 6 1 .2 2 200 500 65 41 106 1 .9 2 .0 0 1 0 .0 0 8 .2 0 .2 1 .2 0 .0 6 .1 4 .0 7 .0 0 2 1 .6 4 .2 1 20 0 1000 57 39 96 1 .6 5 .0 0 0 7 . 0 0 6 ..3 2 .1 8 .1 4 .0 5 .1 3 .0 6 .0 0 2 4 .6 0 . 2 1 200 200 2000 3 00 0 61 66 41 35 102 101 2 . 6 4 .0 0 0 2 . 0 0 1 2 . 1 8 3 . 2 9 .0 0 0 5 . 0 0 1 2 . 6 0 .2 2 .2 2 .1 2 .1 3 .0 2 .0 5 .0 5 .0 5 .0 3 .0 2 .0 0 2 5 . 6 4 .0 0 1 9 . 5 6 .2 0 .1 6 200 None 62 43 105 1 .5 8 .0 0 0 8 .0 0 7 .4 1 .1 9 .2 4 .0 5 .0 7 .0 7 . 0 0 2 1 .6 6 .2 2 25 12 0 12 1 .7 3 .0 0 0 3 .0 0 3 .2 1 .4 9 .7 6 .1 1 .0 8 .0 4 0 100 12 0 12 1 . 8 4 .0 0 0 3 .0 0 2 .2 0 .4 5 .5 1 .0 9 .0 7 .0 3 0 250 10 0 10 1 .5 1 .0 0 0 2 .0 0 2 .2 1 • 44 .5 2 .1 0 .0 7 .0 3 0 500 8 0 8 1 .3 7 .0 0 0 1 . 0 0 2 .1 8 .3 4 .3 8 .0 8 .0 6 .0 2 0 1000 12 0 12 1 .9 2 .0 0 0 4 .0 0 2 .3 8 .4 8 .6 4 .1 1 .0 7 .0 4 0 20 00 12 0 12 2 .5 2 .0 0 0 3 .0 0 3 1 .0 7 .4 7 .7 0 .1 3 .0 8 .0 4 0 3000 0 0 None 14 14 0 14 14 2 .9 2 1 .8 7 . 0 0 0 3 .0 0 3 1 . 2 1 .0 0 0 2 .0 0 4 .0 7 .5 6 .5 5 .9 1 .7 4 .1 2 .1 3 .0 8 .0 8 .0 4 .0 5 0 None* 23 5 28 1 .0 6 .0 0 0 4 .1 6 .4 3 .0 3 .0 4 .2 1 .1 1 No Cu * No fertilizer used .0 0 4 — * Nb h e a d s produced mm — .0 0 0 1 .1 5 — aw TABLE 3 The r e s p o n s e o f s p r i n g w h ea t t o c o p p e r l a y e r e d i n m id d le o f j a r a s com pared t o c o p p e r m ix e d t h r o u g h o u t s o i l T r e a tm e n ts Y i e l d gms« L b s ./A * dry w t. Cu Si S traw H ds. Total A sh 200 25 48 24 72 4 .0 2 200 100 47 20 67 200 250 47 39 200 500 46 20 0 1000 200 200 Per c e n t c o m p o sitio n i n str a w Cu Pe Si N K P Ca .0 0 1 2 .5 0 .6 6 .4 6 3 . 7 6 .0 0 2 0 .3 5 .5 7 .9 9 86 3 .7 3 .0 0 1 6 . 0 1 4 .5 3 .4 4 .6 5 25 71 4 .0 3 .0 0 1 3 . 0 1 2 .2 7 .6 9 .4 6 57 19 76 4 .2 4 .0 0 2 1 1 .2 2 .6 6 .6 8 3000 67 46 113 4 .2 1 .0 0 0 4 3 .2 6 .2 9 2000 64 44 108 3 . 5 2 .0 0 2 0 1 .8 1 .3 0 No Cu 1000 13 0 13 L9.51 .0 0 1 6 8 .3 3 3 .7 5 a . — % Mg Cu i n h ea d s N K .0 0 5 8 2 .5 2 .3 2 .0 0 4 7 2 .1 7 .6 2 .1 2 .0 0 5 6 1 .8 8 .5 0 .1 0 .0 0 5 6 2 .1 6 .5 4 a . 2 .5 5 .0 0 5 9 1 .6 1 .2 1 .2 4 .0 0 5 4 1 .5 8 • 48 5.53 - n o h ea d s 0 0 0 — . . 1 1 .3 0 . 1 9 .3 0 a . T o t a l c o m p o s i t i o n i n grams 200 25 48 24 72 200 100 47 20 200 250 47 200 500 46 39 25 200 2 00 1000 3000 57 200 67 1 .9 3 1 .7 6 .0 0 0 6 .0 0 0 9 86 1 .7 6 71 .2 2 .1 6 .3 2 .2 7 .0 0 0 8 .0 0 7 .2 5 .2 1 1 .8 5 .0 0 0 6 . 0 0 6 .1 2 .3 2 .0 5 .1 4 .0 6 .2 1 .0 9 .1 4 .0 5 .7 0 2 .1 9 .3 8 .2 0 .3 9 1 .1 6 .1 9 .1 5 0 1 .1 0 .5 0 .7 3 • 76 2 .4 3 67 19 46 113 2 .8 2 .0 0 1 2 .0 0 0 3 200 0 64 44 108 2 .2 5 .0 0 1 3 NoCu 1000 13 0 13 2 .5 8 .0 0 0 2 - a . 0 - .2 4 • 46 . 0 . .0 0 1 4 .0 0 0 9 .6 1 .0 0 2 2 .0 0 1 4 .7 3 .5 4 .1 4 .0 0 2 7 .4 9 .7 4 .1 0 mm .0 0 2 4 .7 0 .2 1 mm - a * .3 1 . 0 a . 0 a . .4 3 no heads .0 8 .1 2 .2 0 16 c o p p e r w as a p p l i e d . T h ese a r e t h e o n l y t a b l e s o f s u c h d a t a t h a t w i l l be p r e s e n te d . T h i s w h e a t w a s p l a n t e d March 1 , 1947. T hree w eeks l a t e r a r e t a r d a t i o n i n g r o w th w a s n o t e d w h e r e c o p p e r h a d n o t b e e n a p p lie d . On A p r i l 5 , 19 47 a p r o n o u n c e d d i f f e r e n c e i n c o l o r o f p l a n t s r e c e i v i n g d i f f e r e n t tr e a tm e n t s was n o te d a s f o llo w s : ( a ) No f e r t i l i z e r - g r a y i s h g r e e n . (b ) C o m p lete f e r t i l i z e r m in u s c o p p e r - l i g h t y e llo w ish green . (c) C o m p lete f e r t i l i z e r p l u s c o p p e r - d a r k n a t u r a l g r e e n . Where s i l i c a had b e e n a p p l i e d from 2 0 0 0 t o 3 0 0 0 p o u n d s p e r a c r e t h e p l a n t s g r e w much more e r e c t and t h e s t r a w was m ore b r i t t l e . Of p a r t i c u l a r i n t e r e s t (F ig u re 1 , tr e a tm e n t 2 ) , i s th e p l a n t p r o d u c e d b y p l a c i n g t h e c o p p e r i n a l a y e r " h a lf - w a y " down, i n t h e j a r i n s t e a d o f m i x i n g i t th o ro u g h ly in th e s o i l . T h is r e l a t i o n s h i p h o ld s in a l l c a s e s o f l a y e r i n g in s t e a d o f m ix in g copper i n t h i s e x p e r im e n t. The p l a n t s t h a t d i d n o t r e c e i v e c o p p e r ( F i g . 2) p r o d u c e d no h e a d s and s o o n d r i e d u p . F i g u r e s 3 , 4 and 5 show i n more d e t a i l t h e r e s p o n s e o f s p r in g w h eat t o c o p p e r . No m arked d i f f e r e n c e s i n y i e l d w e r e n o t e d w i t h i n c r e a s i n g am ou nts o f s i l i c a a p p lie d . B u t, d i f f e r e n c e s i n th e c o m p o sitio n o f t h e p l a n t s a r e n o t e d i n T a b l e s 1 , 2 and 3 w i t h i n c r e a s i n g s ilic a co n ten t. I t ca n b e s e e n t h a t w h e r e s i l i c a w as a p p l i e d a t t h e r a t e o f 2 00 0 l b s . / a . t h e p l a n t s c o n t a i n e d much m ore s ilic a . A t t h e 2000 and 3 0 0 0 l b s . / A . a p p l i c a t i o n s o f s i l i c a 17 F ig . 2 R esp o n se o f s p r in g w h ea t to c o p p e r . The w h e a t p ro d u cin g h e a d s r e c e iv e d co p p er, th o s e j a r s o f w heat n o t p ro d u cin g h ea d s d id n o t r e c e i v e co p p er. g F ig . 5 R esp on se o f s p r in g w h eat to cop p er. T rea tm en ts a re l e f t to r ig h t: (6 6 ) No f e r t i l i z e r - No c o p p e r , ( 6 7 ) No f e r t i l i z e r - C op p er, (5 8 ) F e r t i l i z e r - i\io copper. Fig. I R esponse o f sp r in g w heat t o c o p p e r . T rea tm en ts are: ( L e f t ) No f e r t i l i z e r - No c o p p e r , (C en ter) No f e r t i l i z e r - C opper a d d ed , ( R i g h t ) Fez’t i l i z e r Copper a d d e d . F ig . 5 D e v e lo p m e n t o f w h e a t h e a d s a s e f f e c t e d by a c o p p e r a p p lic a tio n . ( L e f t ) No f e r t i l i z e r - No c o p p e r , ( C e n t e r ) F e r t i l i z e r - No c o p p e r , ( R i g h t ) F e r t i l i z e r C op p er. (w h ere c o p p e r h ad b e e n a p p l i e d ) , t h e p e r c e n t a g e c o p p e r and i r o n was r e d u c e d a s compared t o t h o s e t r e a t m e n t s r e c e i v i n g t h e lo w er a p p l i c a t i o n s o f s i l i c a . The p e r c e n t a g e ( T a b l e 1) c o p p e r and i r o n w a s h i g h e r i n s i m i l a r t r e a t m e n t s w h i c h d i d not r e c e iv e copper. The c o n t e n t o f t h e m a jo r e l e m e n t s f o u n d i n t h e s e t r e a t m e n t s a r e shown i n F i g u r e 6 . X \X 1 X POTASSIUM NITROGEN PHOSPHORUS SILICA 1 3 u SO 4 _________CCOPPER. U P P tH . AUUfcU 01 ADDED 22Q0_LBS/'A EQUiy. „________ >< 3ILICA ADO LBSA25 100 250 500 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 NONE 25 FERTILIZER , 3 -S -L 8 100 250 _NH 500 1000 2000 3000 NONE NONE ><0-0-0, TREA TM EN TS Fig. 6 PERCENT COMPOSITION OF ELEMENTS FOUND IN SPRING WHEAT STRAW AS AFFECTED BY VARIED COPPER AND SILICA CONTENT ON MUCK SOIL SUMMARY Copper a p p l i e d " h a l f - w a y ” down i n t h e s o i l o f t h e j a r s d id n o t s t i m u l a t e p l a n t g r o w t h a s i t d id in th o se j a r s w here t h e c o p p e r w a s t h o r o u g h l y m ix e d w i t h t h e s o i l . S ilic a a p p l i e d i n t h e form o f s i l i c i c a c id to th e s o i l i n f l u e n c e d t h e u p t a k e b y t h e p l a n t o f Cu, R e , Ca and Mg w h ere c o p p e r had b e e n a p p l i e d . The u p t a k e o f s i l i c a w a s m a r k e d ly i n c r e a s e d a t t h e 2 00 0 and 3 0 0 0 l b . / A . a p p l i c a t i o n s . The c o p p e r - d e f i c i e n t w h e a t p l a n t s w e r e c h a r a c t e r i z e d by a lig h t e r green c o lo r , back o f th e t i p s r e ta r d e d grow th , c u r l i n g and d y i n g - and no h e a d p r o d u c t i o n . EXPERIMENT 2 T h is e x p e r i m e n t w as d e s i g n e d t o f u r t h e r i n v e s t i g a t e t h e f i n d i n g s i n E x p e r im e n t 1 . C opper w as a p p l i e d to th r e e ja r s as fo llo w s : (1 ) A t t h e b o t t o m o f t h e j a r , (2 ) i n m id d le o f jar, (200 l b s . / A . ) (3 ) b r o a d c a s t a t t h e t o p o f j a r , (4 ) m ix e d t h o r o u g h l y i n t h e s o i l and (5 ) m ix e d i n s o i l p l u s 2 5 0 0 lb s ./A . s i l i c i c a c id . T h e s e t r e a t m e n t s w i t h t h e i r e f f e c t on y i e l d s and e l e m e n t c o m p o s i t i o n a r e g i v e n i n T a b l e s 4 and 5 . F i g u r e 7 sh o w s t h e a v e r a g e y i e l d s o f s t r a w and h e a d s f o r th e se trea tm en ts. Y i e l d s from j a r s i n w h ic h c o p p e r w as m ix e d i n t h e s o i l w e r e s l i g h t l y b e t t e r t h a n y i e l d s o f j a r s w h ere c o p p e r w as a p p l i e d a t t h e b o t to m o r t o p o f s o i l , and much b e t t e r t h a n w h e r e c o p p e r w as a p p l i e d a s a l a y e r " h a lf - w a y " down i n t h e s o i l o f t h e jar. P l a n t s from t h i s l a t t e r t r e a t m e n t TABLE 4 The e f f e c t o f c o p p e r , a p p l i e d a t d i f f e r e n t d e p t h s i n t h e s o i l , on y i e l d and c o m p o s i t i o n o f s p r i n g w h e a t T r e a tm e n t 1 2 5 6 7 T o ta l Ash Per c e n t c o m p o sitio n i n str a w Cu Pe SiO o N K P Ca Mg 200 Cu b o t to m j a r 70 24 94 8 .9 6 .0 0 1 8 .0 2 6 1 .1 7 1 .9 5 2 .7 8 .4 5 .3 6 .2 7 200 Cu m id d l e j a r 56 15 71 1 0 .5 7 .0 0 2 2 .0 2 9 .9 7 2 .4 7 3 .7 4 .5 1 .4 7 • 28 65 25 90 8 .2 2 .0 0 1 4 .0 2 1 1 .5 0 1 .9 2 2 .5 8 .5 2 .3 2 .2 0 200 Cu m ix e d in s o i l 69 26 95 8 .7 7 .0 0 2 1 .0 2 9 .8 8 2 .0 9 3 .0 2 .4 7 .3 5 .2 0 20 0 Cu 2 50 0 S i 72 32 104 1 2 .8 7 .0 0 0 9 .0 0 3 5 .3 8 1 .7 4 1 .1 3 .3 9 .1 5 .0 2 200 Cu 8 - 9 - 0 NH^CgO^* 69 24 93 7 .3 5 .0 0 1 2 .0 1 7 1 .5 4 3 .4 6 .7 0 .5 8 • 82 •4 2 No Cu 40 0 40 1 2 .6 4 .0 0 1 9 .0 3 1 .7 1 3 .2 1 4 .2 6 .6 5 .6 5 .3 1 3 ' 200 Cu to p j a r 4 Y i e l d gm s. dry w t. S tr a w Heads * 1,000 lbs./A. ammonium oxalate added TABLE 5 The e f f e c t o f c o p p e r , a p p l i e d a t d i f f e r e n t d e p t h s i n t h e s o i l , on y i e l d and c o m p o s i t i o n o f s p r i n g w h ea t 3 4 6 7 Cu T o t a l c o n t e n t i n s t r a w ( g m s .) Fe SiOp N K P Ca Mg .2 5 20 0 Cu b o t to m j a r 70 24 94 6 .2 7 .0 0 1 7 •0 2 4 1 .1 0 1 .8 4 2 .6 2 .3 4 200 Cu m id d l e j a r 56 15 71 5 .9 1 .0 0 1 6 .0 2 1 .6 9 1 .7 6 2 .6 6 • 36 .3 4 .2 0 200 Cu top ja r 65 25 90 5 .3 4 .0 0 1 3 .0 1 9 1 .3 5 1 .7 3 2 .3 3 .4 7 .2 9 200 Cu M ixed in s o il 69 26 95 5 .0 7 .0 0 2 0 .0 2 8 1 .9 9 2 .8 8 .4 5 • 34 .1 9 200 Cu 2 50 0 S i 72 32 104 5 .0 6 .0 0 0 9 .0 0 3 5 .6 1 1 .8 2 1 .1 8 .4 1 .1 6 .0 2 200 Cu 8 - 9 - 0 NH^.CpOd.'3* 69 24 93 9 .2 7 .0 0 1 1 .0 1 6 1 .4 3 3 .2 1 .6 5 .5 4 .7 6 .3 9 No Cu 40 0 40 6 .0 5 .0 0 0 8 .0 1 2 .2 8 1 .2 8 1 .7 0 .2 6 .2 6 .1 2 * 1,000 lbs./A. ammonium oxalate added CO 5 Ash 00 H • 2 T o ta l . 1 Y i e l d gm s. dry w t. S tr a w Heads . to T r e a tm e n t WHEAT STRAW X o uj % >X a 5 - C u ■ RECEIVED 2 5 0 0 lb»./A (EQUIV.) SILICIC ACID 6 -C u ■ RECE IVED lO O O Ib i/A AMMONIUM OXALATE WHEAT HEADS 200 Cu 32 1 3 0 0 0 Ca 83 13 96 .0 0 2 9 .0 2 7 1 .1 6 1 .5 3 .2 5 .3 6 .3 2 .0 2 8 .9 6 1 .4 2 .2 3 .3 9 .2 8 1 .1 6 1 .1 3 1 .1 3 1 .0 8 .1 1 .5 0 .3 0 26 31 00 rl CO 33 90 0 Cu 3 0 0 0 Ca 92 21 113 .0 0 2 8 34 900 Cu 9 0 0 0 Ca 81 13 94 .0 0 2 8 35 2 5 0 0 Cu 9 0 0 0 Ca 81 19 100 .0 0 2 8 .0 2 2 * No m i c r o - n u t r i e n t e l e m e n t s a p p l i e d C a lc iu m a p p l i e d a s c a l c i u m h y d r o x i d e ; as copper s u l f a t e copper a p p lie d copper n o t a d d e d ). T h is c o n d i t i o n c h a r a c te r iz e d by a f i r i n g (sh ow n i n F i g u r e 11) w a s ( r e d ) o f t h e t i p s and e d g e s o f t h e l e a v e s w i t h some c u r l i n g and d y i n g - b a c k . The r e l a t i v e r e ­ sponse o f th e p la n t s to th e f e r t i l i z e r tr ea tm en ts i s shown i n F ig u r e 1 2 . H i g h e s t y i e l d s w ere o b t a i n e d w i t h a c o m p le t e f e r t i l i z e r and 1500 t o 25 00 l b s . / A . a d d in g c a l c i u m . a p p lic a t io n s o f copper w ith o u t Upon a d d in g c a l c i u m t o s im ila r trea tm en ts t h e r e w as a m ark ed d e c r e a s e i n y i e l d s a s shown i n F i g u r e 1 0 . F i g . 11 C o p p e r - d e f i c i e n t su d an g r a s s l e a v e s . a r e a s on l e a v e s w e r e r e d i n c o l o r . The d a r k F ig . 12 R e s p o n s e o f su d an g r a s s t o T rea tm en ts w ere: (1 ) ’’Cu” w i t h o u t "Cu", (3 ) ’’Cu’’ b u t and no "K", (0 ) No f e r t i l i z c o p p e r and p o t a s s i u m . p l u s ’’K” , (2 ) ”K” no "K", (4) No ’’ Cu" e r a p p lie d . SUMMARY (1 ) Sudan g r a s s d i d n o t r e s p o n d t o i n c r e a s i n g am ou nts o f copper in t h e ab sen ce o f p o ta ssiu m . (2) Sudan g r a s s d i d n o t r e s p o n d t o an a p p l i c a t i o n o f p o ta ss iu m in t h e a b se n c e o f c o p p er. (3 ) Maximum y i e l d s w e r e o b t a i n e d w i t h t h e a d d i t i o n o f 1 5 0 0 and 2500 l b s . / A . absence o f c a lc iu m . e q u iv a le n t o f copper s u l f a t e i n th e W ith t h e a d d i t i o n o f c a lc i u m t o s im ila r tr e a tm e n ts th e y i e l d s w ere d e c r e a s e d . EXPERIMENT 5 A t t h i s s t a g e o f t h e i n v e s t i g a t i o n no c o r r e l a t i o n had b e e n o b s e r v e d b e t w e e n t h e f e r t i l i z e r t r e a t m e n t s u s e d and any s t i m u l a t i n g e f f e c t fr o m a t r e a t m e n t w h ic h had n o t r e c e i v e d copper. F e r t i l i z e r a p p l i c a t i o n s in th e a b sen ce o f copper i n c r e a s e d c o p p e r d e f i c i e n c y s:ymptoms. Even t h o u g h t h e w h e a t p l a n t s had d e v e l o p e d d i e - b a c k and appeared s tr a w -c o lo r e d i n th e absence o f c o p p e r ; t h e r e w as a r a p i d r e s p o n s e when c o p p e r w a s a p p l i e d a t t h a t s t a g e o f ma­ tu r ity . T h is i s b r o u g h t o u t v i v i d l y i n F i g u r e 13 i n w h ic h t h e p l a n t on t h e l e f t d i d n o t r e c e i v e c o p p e r , t h e c e n t e r j a r r e c e i v e d c o p p e r on e w e e k and t h e j a r on t h e r i g h t two w e e k s b e fo r e p ic t u r e was ta k e n . a s th o se in th e A l l p l a n t s had p r e v i o u s l y a p p e a r e d j a r on t h e l e f t h a v i n g r e c e i v e d a c o m p le t e f e r t i l i z e r b u t no c o p p e r . T h i s d i e - b a c k o f new g r o w t h i n a c o p p e r - d e f i c i e n t p l a n t is f u r t h e r shown i n c e l e r y F i g u r e 1 4 . GO F i g . 13 R esp on se o f sp r in g w h e a t t o cop p er a f t e r d e v e lo p in g c o p p e r d e f i c i e n c y sym ptom s. T rea tm en ts w ere: T ar (5 8 ) No c o p p e r , ( 1 9 ) r e c e i v e d c o p p e r o n e week and (2 9 ) r e c e i v e d c o p p e r two w e e k s b e f o r e t h i s p i c t u r e was t a k e n . F i g . 14 R e s p o n s e o f c e l e r y t o c o p p e r . P l a n t s o n l e f t show d y i n g - b a c k o f new g r o w t h , c o p p e r was n o t a p p l i e d . The p l a n t s on r i g h t r e c e i v e d c o p p e r and m a i n t a i n e d norm al grow th . E x p e r im e n t 5 was d e s i g n e d t o i n v e s t i g a t e t h e a v a i l a ­ b ility and u s e o f some d i f f e r e n t c o p p e r compounds a s a f f e c t ­ in g p la n t gro w th . T a b le 7 and F i g u r e 15 g i v e an o u t l i n e o f t h e t r e a t m e n t s and d a t a s e c u r e d . in to The c o p p e r - c o n t a i n i n g com pounds w e r e m ix e d t h e s o i l and e a c h j a r c o n t a i n e d e q u i v a l e n t am ou nts o f copper. w h eat. F i g u r e 16 shows t h e u n i f o r m g r o w t h o f t h e s p r i n g Y i e l d s fro m j a r s r e c e i v i n g t w e n t y - f i v e p o u n d s o f c o p ­ p e r s u l f a t e p e r a c r e w e r e a s h i g h a s t h o s e y i e l d s fro m 100 l b s . ■per a c r e a p p l i c a t i o n s . The c u p f e r r o n was ad d ed a s a p o s s i b l e m eans o f t y i n g up some o f t h e i r o n i n t h e s o i l . F in e ly d iv id e d e l e c t r o l y t i c fic ia l effects. a lm o st eq u al to copper (C .P .) gave bene­ Copper a p p l i e d a s t h e m e t a l g a v e r e s u l t s th e a p p lic a t io n s o f copper s a l t s . The r e s u l t s from t h e c o p p e r p y r o p h o s p h a t e c a t a l y s t s a r e i n a g r e e m e n t w i t h t h o s e f o u n d b y A r m ig er and c o - w o r k e r s The r e s u l t s w i t h t r e a t m e n t 1 1 , (2 ). F i g . 1 5 , w h ere no f e r t i ­ l i z e r had b e e n a p p l i e d e x c e p t 10 0 l b s . / A . o f c o p p e r s u l f a t e , b r i n g s o u t t h e im p o r t a n c e o f c o p p e r a s an a i d t o h e a d fo rm a ­ t i o n on w h e a t . SUMMARY S p r in g w h e a t g a v e f a v o r a b l e r e s p o n s e i n g r o w th t o t h e d i f f e r e n t c o p p e r - c o n t a i n i n g com pounds u s e d i n t h i s e x p e r i m e n t . The p e r c e n t n i t r o g e n i n t h e p l a n t s w h e r e c o p p e r w a s n o t a p p l i e d c o n t i n u e d to b e h i g h . O n ly w h e r e c o p p e r a l o n e was a p p l i e d to TABLE 7 R e s p o n s e o f s p r i n g w h e a t t o d i f f e r e n t k i n d s and r a t e o f a p p l i c a t i o n o f c o p p e r com pounds; t h e c o p p e r ad d ed i n e q u i v a l e n t a m o u n t s . Y ie ld gm s. T r e a tm e n t ra te dry w t . # / A . . S tra w H ead s T o t a l 1_ w 1 3 o 2_ 3_ Ph 1 00 3 iH o 5_ 1 ±_ 6_ o> <1 1 3 o 7_ CO H H-l-l 1 8_ 3 o 9 10 11 12 13 O I o 1 P e r cen t c o m p o sitio n i n stra w Cu Fe N K P Ca Mg 25 28 26 54 .0 0 1 9 .011 .4 3 .5 1 .1 7 .2 8 .11 100 28 26 54 .0010 .012 .4 5 .5 8 .1 4 .22 .11 None 12 13 .0011 .021 3 . 0 3 1 . 4 5 .6 5 .4-6 .2 4 25 25 23 48 .0 0 1 3 .4 1 .4 1 100 25 23 48 .0 0 1 7 .4 0 .2 4 25 25 23 48 .0 0 1 3 .3 9 .5 7 100 26 24 50 .0 0 3 1 .4 1 .5 7 25 25 23 48 .0 0 0 8 .3 8 .6 0 100 26 24 50 .0010 .4 0 .7 0 None 11 10 21 .0 0 1 6 .0 1 6 1 .1 4 .2 5 .10 .6 2 .3 5 12 14 26 .0 0 1 3 .011 .7 6 .2 5 .0 7 .4 9 .3 0 21 20 41 .0 0 1 7 .6 0 .8 4 14 1 15 .00 21 2 .7 7 2 .4 4 o 100 00 rH 100 1 o> a 1 CO None * 1~ — MM .0 2 8 * C u p f e r r o n w as a d d e d (2 0 0 l b s . / A . ) Cu-S Cu-A Cu-H Cu-E Cu-P « = » = = Copper s u l f a t e T e tr a copper c a lc iu m o x y c h lo r id e C op p er h y d r o x i d e E l e c t r o l y t i c c o p p e r (CP) C op p er p y r o p h o s p h a t e c a t a l y s t s _ mmm _ — - MM — - _ mm .6 1 .5 1 .2 4 1 U| I WHEAT STRAW □ WHEAT Cu - S Cu - P Cu -A C u -H Cu - E HEADS * » COPPER SU LPH A T E COPPER CONTAINING PR O -PH O SPH A T E CATALYST TETRA COPPER CALCIUM OXYCHLORIDE COPPER HYDROXIDE ELECTROLYTIC COPPER (C .P .) TREATM ENTS 13 NONE < CUPFERRON ADDED ( 2 5 0 lb * ./A EQUIV.) 30 > x 2 251 x < “S X Hi a. 20 < x 0 1 Q -I U J 15 < 10 UJ C u S 0 4 U S E D -I Cu S RATE Ib t/A 25 F E R T ILIZ E R ^ 2 C u -S 100 3 NONE 4 C u -P 5 C u -P 25 100 3 -9 -1 8 6 C u-A 25 7 C u -A 100 8 C u -H 25 9 C u -H 100 10 NONE IIC u -S 12 C u -E 13 NONE 100 100 3 -9 -1 8 0 - 0 - 0 ______ _ F ig ./$ RESPONSE OF SPRING WHEAT TO EQUIVALENTLY ADDED DIFFEREN T KINDS OF COPPER CONTAINING SUBSTANCES F i g . 16 R e s p o n s e o f s p r i n g w h e a t t o d i f f e r e n t c o p p e r com­ p o u n d s. . T reatm en ts w ere: ( L e f t to r i g h t ) ( 1 ) C op p er n o t u s e d , ( 2 ) c o p p e r s u l f a t e 100 l b s . / A . ( 3 ) c o p p e r p y r o p h o s p h a t e c a t a l y s t s 100 l b s . / A . , (4) t e t r a - c o p p e r c a lc iu m o x y c h lo r id e 100 l b s . / A . , (5) co p p er h y d r o x id e 100 l b s . / A . , (6) e l e c t r o l y t i c c o p p e r ( C . P . ) 100 l b s . / A . , (7 ) c o p p e r n o t u s e d b u t 200 l b s . / A . c u p f e r r o n a d d e d . th e s o i l (no o t h e r f e r t i l i z e r ) d id th e head y i e l d s ex ceed th a t o f th e stra w . EXPERIMENT 6 E x p e r im e n t 6 w as s e t u p , a s a r e s u l t o f t h e w ork by P i p e r (4 0 ) on p a r t i a l s t e r i l i z a t i o n o f t h e s o i l w h ic h i n ­ c r e a s e d g r o w t h and c o p p e r u p t a k e o f t h e p l a n t , to d eterm in e w h e t h e r muck w o u ld r e a c t i n t h e same m an ner a s t h e m i n e r a l s o il in v e stig a te d . He c o n c l u d e d t h a t t h e i n c r e a s e i n a v a i l a b i l i t y o f copper, as a r e s u lt o f p a r t i a l s t e r i l i z a t i o n , d i c a t e s t h a t t h e d e f i c i e n c y i n t h e Dobe s o i l in ­ (h ig h ly c a lc a r ­ e o u s s h e l l y s a n d ) w as o n e o f u n a v a i l a b i l i t y r a t h e r t h a n l a c k o f t o t a l copper. A ls o , t h a t copper becom es n e c e s s a r y f o r g ro w th i n t h e e a r l y s e e d l i n g s t a g e and a p p a r e n t l y r e m a in s e s s e n t i a l as lo n g a s a c t i v e grow th i s p r o c e e d in g . E ach t r e a t m e n t w a s s e t up i n t r i p l i c a t e . S ix ja r s w ere s t e r i l i z e d b y s te a m a t 10 p o u n d s p r e s s u r e f o r e i g h t h o u r s ; t h r e e j a r s w i t h c o p p e r a p p l i e d , and t h r e e j a r s c o n t a i n i n g no copper. T h is s t e r i l i z a t i o n p r o c e s s w a s r e p e a t e d t h r e e d a y s l a t e r t o k i l l a n y m i c r o b e s t h a t m ig h t h a v e b e e n i n t h e s p o r e s ta te p r e v io u sly . S i x o t h e r j a r s w e r e p r e p a r e d c o m p a r a b le t o th o se above b u t w ere n o t s t e r i l i z e d . in a l l ja rs. S p r in g w h e a t w a s p l a n t e d The t r e a t m e n t s a r e shown i n T a b le 8 . TABLE 8 R esponse o f sp r in g w h eat to cop p er a s a f f e c t e d by s t e r i l i z e d and u n s t e r i l i z e d muck s o i l T re a tm e n t i £ * CO 4 Y i e l d g m s. dry w t . S tr a w H eads Cu Fe N K P Ca Mg .3 2 No Cu 19 None .0 0 1 6 .0 2 1 2 .9 3 4 .3 6 .7 9 .6 2 Cu 51 29 .0 0 1 0 .0 1 1 1 .5 5 1 .1 2 .3 9 .2 2 .1 4 No Cu 63 8 .0 0 1 8 .0 1 2 3 .0 0 2 .1 4 .5 2 .5 9 .3 8 Cu 85 32 .0 0 2 7 .0 1 0 . 2 .1 3 1 .2 1 .3 7 .5 3 .3 4 *S - S t e r i l i z e d muck s o i l ^*Un-S - U n s t e r i l i z e d muck s o i l Where c o p p e r h ad n o t b e e n a p p l i e d , b u t t h e s o i l s t e r i l ­ i z e d , p l a n t g r o w t h w a s r a p i d and v i g o r o u s i n t h e e a r l y s t a g e s . I t w a s n o t u n t i l t h e s e p l a n t s h ad s t a r t e d t o h ead t h a t c o p p e r d e f i c i e n c y symptoms a p p e a r e d . T h e s e symptoms a p p e a r e d s u d d e n l y and v e r y few h e a d s w e r e p r o d u c e d . T h is i s y i e l d s shown i n T a b le 8 and i n F i g u r e 1 7 . r e f l e c t e d in th e S t e r i l i z e d muck p r o d u c e d g r e a t e r y i e l d s o f s t r a w b o t h w i t h and w i t h o u t c o p p e r th an d id th e u n s t e r i l i z e d s o i l . fo r m a tio n . C op p er n o t a b l y f a v o r e d h e a d F i g u r e 18 show s t h e a p p e a r a n c e o f t h e p l a n t s . The d i f f e r e n c e s i n s i z e an d f u l l n e s s o f w h e a t k e r n e l s p r o d u c e d a r e shown i n F i g u r e 1 9 . SUMMARY S t e r i l i z a t i o n o f muck s o i l s t i m u l a t e d t h e g r o w t h o f w h e a t p la n ts. When c o p p e r w a s n o t a p p l i e d , t h e s t e r i l i z e d muck p r o ­ d u ced p l a n t s w i t h a b u n d a n t v e g e t a t i v e g r o w t h b u t v e r y f e w h e a d s and show ed c o p p e r d e f i c i e n c y symptoms a t t i m e o f h e a d i n g . I n c o m p a r is o n , a muck n o t s t e r i l i z e d d u ced v e r y l i t t l e (no c o p p e r a p p l i e d ) p r o ­ v e g e t a t i v e g r o w t h , no h e a d s , and t h e p l a n t s show ed c o p p e r d e f i c i e n c y symptoms e a r l y i n t h e i r g r o w t h c y c l e . The r e s u l t s o f t h i s e x p e r i m e n t i n d i c a t e t h a t s t e r i l i z a ­ t i o n p o s s i b l y m akes some n u t r i e n t e l e m e n t s m ore a v a i l a b l e ( i n c l u d i n g c o p p e r ) and t h a t t h e d e f i c i e n c y o f c o p p e r i n t h i s s o i l i s one o f l a c k o f a v a i l a b i l i t y r a t h e r t h a n l a c k o f t o t a l su p p ly . I □ WHEAT STRAW WHEAT HEADS WEIGHT) 70 60 50 WHEAT YIELD - GRAMS PER JAR 80 (DRY 90 40 30 20 10 COPPER NO COPPER NO COPPER COPPER S T E R IL IZ E D U N S T E R I L I Z E D MUCK TREATMENTS F l g . / 7 RESPONSE OF SPRING WHEAT TO COPPER GROWN IN ST ERILIZED AND UN STERILIZED MUCK SOIL MUCK F i g . 18 R esp o n se o f s p r in g w h eat t o c o p p e r a s e f f e c t e d by s t e r i l i z e d and n o n - s t e r i l i z e d muck s o i l . T rea tm en ts w ere a s f o l l o w s : ( 1 ) No Cu - N o t s t e r i l i z e d , ( £ ) No Cu - S t e r i l i z e d , ( 3 ) Cu - N o t s t e r i l i z e d , (4 ) Cu - S t e r i l i z e d . F i g . 19 C o m p a riso n o f w h e a t k e r n e l s from p l a n t s grow n o n muck s o i l r e c e i v i n g c o p p e r ( l e f t ) and no c o p p e r added ( r i g h t ) . EXPERIMENT 7 The p e r c e n t a g e n i t r o g e n was h i g h i n a l l w h e a t p l a n t s t o w h i c h c o p p e r was n o t a p p l i e d t h u s f a r i n t h e s e e x p e r i ­ m en ts. K rau s and K r a y b i l l ( 3 3 ) , a n d s u b s e q u e n t l y many o t h e r i n v e s t i g a t o r s , have sou gh t t o g iv e e x p r e s s io n to th e m e ta b o lic r o l e s o f c a r b o h y d r a t e s and o r g a n i c n i t r o g e n o u s com pounds i n t e r m s o f t h e r e l a t i v e p r o p o r t i o n s o f t h e s e com pounds i n t h e p la n t. W ork in g w i t h to m a to p l a n t s t h e y r e c o g n i z e d f o u r d i f ­ f e r e n t m e t a b o lic c o n d i t i o n s i n term s o f t h e p r o p o r t io n a t e a m o u n ts o f t h e s e two t y p e s o f s u b s t a n c e s p r e s e n t . Each o f t h e s e c o n d i t i o n s a r e d i s t i n g u i s h e d b y a c h a r a c t e r i s t i c m orpho­ l o g i c a l r e s p o n s e on t h e p a r t o f t h e p l a n t s . One o f t h e s e c o n d i t i o n s c o r r e s p o n d i n g t o t h e o u tw a r d a p p e a r a n c e s o f a c o p p e r - d e f i c i e n t w h e a t p l a n t g ro w n d u r i n g t h i s in v e stig a tio n , w as g i v e n a s f o l l o w s : "A v e r y lo w p r o p o r t i o n o f a v a i l a b l e c a r b o h y d r a t e s t o a v a ila b le n itr o g e n . The to m a to p l a n t s w e r e v i g o r o u s v e g e t a - t iv e ly but u n fr u itfu l. le n t. sis S tem s w e r e t h i c k , p i t h y and s u c c u ­ L eaves w ere la r g e , s o f t and d ark g r e e n . C h e m ic a l a n a l y ­ showed t h e p l a n t s t o b e lo w i n r e s e r v e c a r b o h y d r a t e s , b u t r e l a t i v e l y h ig h i n a v a i l a b l e n itr o g e n o u s com pounds” . Any i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f t h e r e s u l t s o f K rau s and K r a y b i l l , o r w o r k o f a s i m i l a r n a t u r e by o t h e r i n v e s t i g a t o r s , m u s t be b a s e d on an e v a l u a t i o n o f t h e r e l a t i v e r o l e s o f t h e c a r b o h y ­ d r a t e s and n i t r o g e n o u s f o o d s a t d i f f e r e n t s t a g e s i n t h e g r o w th c y c le o f th e p la n t . H ick s (2 6 ) r e l a t e s t h a t i n th e w h eat p la n t th e p r o p o r tio n o f a v a i l a b l e ca rb o h y d ra tes to a v a i l a b l e n i t r o ­ g e n o u s compounds i n c r e a s e s p r o g r e s s i v e l y t h r o u g h o u t t h e v e g ­ e t a t iv e p e r io d , and f l o w e r i n g o c c u r s w h en t h i s p r o p o r t i o n b e ­ com es s u f f i c i e n t l y h i g h . A d e f i c i e n c y o f c a r b o h y d r a t e s h a s b e e n f o u n d by H o w l e t t (28) t o in d u c e m i c r o s p o r e d e g e n e r a t i o n an d p o l l e n s t e r i l i t y i n t h e tom ato. Yocum (4 9 ) b e l i e v e s t h a t i f th e n itr o g e n c o n te n t i s kept h i g h , g r o w th may go on a t s u c h an ab n o rm a l r a t e , much o f t h e f o o d t h a t t h e p l a n t f a i l s to g e t a sto r a g e o f c a r b o h y d r a te s s u f f i c i e n t to c a u se i t N ick ery s u p p ly t o becom e r e p r o d u c t i v e . (3 8 ) p o i n t s o u t t h a t , o f a l l c o n stitu e n ts o f c e l l s , u s i n g so th e b io c h e m ic a l n i t r o g e n o u s compounds s h o u l d b e t h e m ost c l o s e l y i n t e g r a t e d w ith v i t a l a c t i v i t y . o f n i t r o g e n (N 1 *5 Through t h e u s e ) c o n c o m i t a n t s y n t h e s i s and b rea k d o w n o f n i t r o g e n compounds i s now r e g a r d e d a s a c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f life . The d i f f i c u l t y lism l i e s and t h e c h a l l e n g e o f n i t r o g e n m e ta b o ­ in th e f a c t th a t i t i s n o t en o u g h t o e x p l a i n t h e p a t h o f s y n t h e s i s o r t h e r e a c t i o n s o f n i t r o g e n compounds; o n e s h o u l d know t h e i r i n t e r r e l a t i o n w i t h o t h e r p h y s i o l o g i c a l p rocesses. H a m ilt o n and G i l b e r t ( 2 2 ) , w o r k in g w i t h tu n g t r e e s , fo u n d t h a t t h e h i g h e r t h e l e v e l o f n i t r o g e n a p p l i e d , s e v e r e w e r e t h e c o p p e r d e f i c i e n c y sym p tom s. and D r o s d o f f r a tio . (2 1 ) t h e m ore G ilb e r t, S e ll, su g g e sted th e e x is te n c e o f a c o p p e r /n itr o g e n I n t h e i r w ork w i t h t u n g t r e e s t h e y fo u n d t h e r a t e o f p h o to -sy n th e sis, in c o p p e r - d e f i c i e n t tung l e a v e s , o n e f o u r t h t h a t o f t h e n o rm al l e a v e s . to be about T h ere w e r e no s i g n i f i ­ ca n t d i f f e r e n c e s b e t w e e n l e a v e s from n o r m a l and c o p p e r - d e f i ­ c i e n t t r e e s i n th e p e r c e n ta g e o f n o n -r e d u c in g sugar; b u t th e p e r c e n t a g e o f r e d u c i n g s u g a r i n d e f i c i e n t l e a v e s w as lo w and th a t o f s ta r c h o u ts ta n d in g ly lo w . T h is c o n d itio n i n d i c a t e s e i t h e r a d e c r e a s e i n f o r m a t i o n o r an i n c r e a s e i n u t i l i z a t i o n o f r e s e r v e carb oh yd rates in such t i s s u e s , o r b oth . E x p e r im e n t 7 w as d e s i g n e d f o r t h e f o l l o w i n g p u r p o s e s : (1 ) To n o t e an y d i f f e r e n c e s i n n i t r o g e n c o n t e n t b e t w e e n a c o p p e r - d e f i c i e n t and n o r m a l p l a n t , (2) to f o l l o w th e cou rse o f r e d u c i n g s u g a r d e v e l o p m e n t i n t h e s e p l a n t s , , and ( 3 ) to o b s e r v e t h e g r o w th c u r v e p r o d u c e d . S ev en ty -tw o j a r s w e r e s e t up a s p r e v i o u s l y d e s c r i b e d i n th e e x p e r im e n ta l p r o c e d u r e . a 200 l b . / A . One h a l f o f t h e s e j a r s r e c e i v e d a p p lic a t io n o f copper s u l f a t e , j a r s d id n o t r e c e i v e c o p p e r . t h e r e m a i n in g 3 6 S p rin g w h eat w as p la n t e d i n t o t h e s e j a r s and t h e f i r s t h a r v e s t w as made o n f o u r each s e t ja rs of ( c o p p e r and no c o p p e r t r e a t m e n t s ) w hen t h e p l a n t s w e r e 19 d a y s o l d . The r e m a i n in g h a r v e s t d a t e s w e r e made a t 7 , t h e n 10 day i n t e r v a l s , u s i n g t h r e e j a r s fr o m e a c h s e t e x ­ c e p t f o r t h e l a s t d a t e o f h a r v e s t i n w h ic h o n l y tw o j a r s r e ­ m a in e d . F i g u r e 20 show s t h e a p p e a r a n c e o f t h e p l a n t s when t h e y w e r e 116 d a y s o l d , w h ic h w a s t h e l a s t h a r v e s t d a t e . F ig . 20 R esponse o f s p r in g w heat t o copper; (1 ) r e c e i v e d c o p p e r , (2 ) c o p p e r was n ot a p p lie d . R e d u c in g s u g a r s and t o t a l n i t r o g e n (K je ld a h l) w ere d e t e r ­ m in ed a t t im e o f h a r v e s t f o r e a c h s e t o f t r e a t m e n t s . T otal y i e l d o f b o t h g r e e n and d r y w e i g h t w a s r e c o r d e d . T hese d a ta a r e p r e s e n t e d i n F i g u r e 21 and T a b l e 9 . D u r in g t h e c o u r s e o f t h i s e x p e r i m e n t , a s t r i k i n g d i f f e r ­ en ce was n o ted i n th e g r e e n c o l o r o f th e p l a n t s a s h a r v e s t e d , o r w hen e x t r a c t e d w i t h e t h y l a l c o h o l , b e t w e e n t h e c o p p e r d e f i c i e n t and n o r m a l p l a n t s . T h u s, when t h e p l a n t s w e r e 4 7 days o ld a co m p a ra tiv e t e s t f o r c h lo r o p h y ll w as run on th e c o p p e r - d e f i c i e n t and n o rm a l p l a n t s . T h is t e s t c o n s i s t e d o f t a k i n g a u n i f o r m l y ch op p ed 4 grsm s a m p le from e a c h h a r v e s t e d trea tm en t. T h e s e s a m p le s w e r e e a c h t h o r o u g h l y p u l v e r i z e d b y m i x i n g i n a W a rin g b l e n d e r f o r n i n e m i n u t e s and t h e c h l o r o p h y l l was e x tr a c te d w it h e t h y l a lc o h o l. The a l c o h o l i c e x t r a c t w a s s e p a r a t e d from t h e f i b r o u s r e ­ m a in s b y u s e o f a s u c t i o n f i l t e r . The r e s i d u e w as w a sh ed f r e e o f c h l o r o p h y l l and d i l u t e d t o 200 c c . An a l i q u o t o f t h i s 2 0 0 c c . w a s p l a c e d i n a c o l o r i m e t e r t u b e and t h e l i g h t t r a n s ­ m it t e d th ro u g h th e s o l u t i o n w as m easured by u s e o f t h e E v ely n c o l o r i m e t e r e m p lo y i n g a 4 4 0 f i l t e r . The r e s u l t s fro m t h e s e co m p a ra tiv e c h l o r o p h y l l d e t e r m in a t io n s a r e r e c o r d e d i n F ig u r e 22. It is e v i d e n t t h a t t h e r e w as l e s s c h lo r o p h y ll i n th e cop­ p e r - d e f i c i e n t p l a n t s a s com pared t o t h e n o rm a l p l a n t s h a v i n g r e c e iv e d copper. The l a t t e r p l a n t s p r o g r e s s i v e l y i n c r e a s e d in c h lo r o p h y ll co n ten t u n t i l th ey w ere 87 d a y s o l d , a f t e r w h ic h t h e w h e a t h e a d s b e g a n t o r i p e n and t h e p l a n t s b e g a n t o l o s e t h e ir c h lo r o p h y ll. The p r e s e n c e o f l e s s c h l o r o p h y l l i n a c o p p e r - d e f i c i e n t p l a n t i n c o m p a r is o n w i t h t h a t i n a. n o rm a l p l a n t r e c e i v i n g copper i s i n a g r e e m e n t w i t h t h e w ork o f Bergman ( 8 ) , O r t h , e t a l Y I E L D - N O COPPER B A S IS) ADDED o a REDUCING 200 160 120 NITROGEN GRAMS 180 M 140 CONTENT (GREEN JAR o 220 YIELD PER - o NITROGEN WHERE COPPER WAS ADDED N IT R O G E N -N O COPPER ADDED REDUCING SUGAR WHERE COPPER ADDED REDUCING S U G A R - N O C O P PE R ADDED 100 WHEAT (DRY WEIGHT ADDED WEIGHT) □ YIELD -CO PPER SUGAR I PERCENTAGE 80 60 40 20 c 0 DAYS 33 40 47 57 67 77 AGE OF P L A N T S AT TIME OF HARVEST Fig. 2 1 RESPONSE OF SPRING WHEAT TO COPPER AS MEASURED AT 7 AND 87 106 116 (DAYS) 1 0 DAY INTERVALS TOGETHER WITH PERCENTAGE NITROGEN AND REDUCING SUGAR C O N T E N T AT T H E S E INTERVALS TABLE 9 Y i e l d and c o m p o s i t i o n o f s p r i n g w h e a t a t d i f f e r e n t a g e s a s e f f e c t e d b y c o p p e r a p p l i c a t i o n s t o muck s o i l . T r e a tm e n t Age o f p l a n t h a rv ested 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 19 d a y s Cu No Cu 26 d a y s Cu No Cu 33 d a y s Cu No Cu 40 d a y s Cu No Cu 47 d a y s Cu No Cu 57 d a y s Cu No Cu 67 d a y s Cu No Cu 77 d a y s Cu No Cu 87 d a y s Cu No Cu 97 d a y s Cu No Cu 106 d a y s Cu No Cu 116 d a y s Cu No Cu Y i e l d g m s. g r e e n dry w t. w t. 9 9 1 1 19 15 2 2 33 21 4 2 53 27 P e r c e n t c o m p o sitio n i n Ash N 6 .0 3 4 .2 1 K - stra w R e d u c in g sugar 1 .7 9 .9 4 5 .1 4 5 .3 0 .5 5 .3 5 4 .7 5 5 .2 6 .8 6 .3 8 6 3 4 .8 1 4 .9 4 1 .0 2 .3 9 74 35 7 3 5 .1 5 4 .7 4 .4 5 .2 8 141 50 13 5 1 2 .0 9 1 5 .5 4 3 .8 5 4 .3 0 4 .2 0 4 .7 6 1 .2 6 .5 9 163 50 18 5 1 2 .1 6 1 4 .1 8 3 .9 2 3 .9 8 4 .4 4 5 .9 6 .4 8 .2 1 164 71 20 7 9 .8 0 1 4 .4 1 4 .4 9 5 .1 8 4 .1 1 5 .2 0 5 .1 3 .5 3 166 74 31 10 9 .0 8 1 3 .3 1 2 .9 0 4 .2 4 3 .2 1 4 .6 6 2 .3 1 1 .0 2 184 72 35 11 7 .6 2 1 3 .8 8 2 .5 1 3 .5 7 2 .9 3 4 .9 2 2 .3 3 .3 0 202 54 47 10 6 .6 9 1 5 .6 7 2 .2 7 3 .3 4 2 .0 5 3 .8 9 2 .2 5 .4 5 159 20 51 10 6 .6 4 1 4 .9 7 2 .0 4 3 .0 0 1 .9 4 3 .9 2 1 .5 0 .2 3 .... ------- 70 COPPER ADDED TO SOIL 6S NO COPPER ADDED TO SOIL 60 59 SO 49 THE L E S S LIGHT TRANSMITTED — THE MORE CHLOROPHYLL IN THE P L A N T 40 39 30 25 20 19 10 9 J l 47 L 57 i L 67 1 77 87 97 106 116 AGE OF PL A N TS AT TIME OF HARVEST (DAYS) INDIRECT DETERMINATION OF CHLOROPHYLL IN SPRING WHEAT BY MEASUREMENT OF L IGHT T R A N S M ISS IO N (5 9 ) and. o b s e r v a t i o n s made b y Harmer (2 4 ) . V a rio u s s u g g e s t io n s have been o f f e r e d a c c o r d in g to B e n n e t t (7 ) t o e x p l a i n c h l o r o s i s a s due t o th e i n a c t iv a t i o n o f i r o n , n a m e ly , by e x c e s s e s o f o t h e r e l e m e n t s i n c h l o r o t i c le a v e s . I n a c t i v a t i o n has th u s b een a s c r ib e d to an e x c e s s o f p h o s p h o r u s , p o t a s s i u m and m a n g a n e s e . S u ch e l e m e n t e x c e s s e s , o r h i g h p e r c e n t a g e c o n t e n t o f t h e e le m e n t s , w ere fou nd p r e s e n t i n c o p p e r -d e fic ie n t p la n ts th r o u g h o u t th e ex p e r im e n ts co n d u cted in t h i s in v e stig a tio n . F i g u r e 21 shows t h e y i e l d s and r e l a t i o n s h i p s o f t h e s p r i n g w h e a t w i t h r e g a r d t o n i t r o g e n and r e d u c i n g s u g a r o f t h e c o p p e r - d e f i c i e n t and n o m a l p l a n t s . It is o f s p e c ia l i n t e r e s t t h a t w h e r e c o p p e r had b e e n a p p l i e d t o t h e s o il, th e r e d u c in g sugar c o n te n t o f t h e s e p l a n t s in c r e a s e d a t th e approx­ i m a t e t im e t h a t n o d e s becam e e v i d e n t and h e a d f o r m a t i o n a p p a r ­ en t. The r e d u c i n g s u g a r c o n t e n t o f t h e s e p l a n t s t h r o u g h o u t t h e r e m a i n in g g r o w th c y c l e f o l l o w e d a p p r o x i m a t e l y t h e same tren d as th e t o t a l n itr o g e n c o n t e n t . I t was a t t h i s sta g e o f grow th t h a t d i f f e r e n c e s in th e t o t a l n it r o g e n c o n t e n t o f th e c o p p e r - d e f i c i e n t p l a n t s and t h e n o r m a l p l a n t s b eca m e e v i d e n t , and r e m a in e d s o , t h r o u g h o u t t h e r e m a i n in g g r o w t h c y c l e o f t h e p la n ts. SUMMARY D a t a from t h i s e x p e r i m e n t i n d i c a t e s t h a t t h e l a c k o f c o p ­ per, tio n . in some w a y , r e s u l t s i n a d e c r e a s e i n c h l o r o p h y l l fo r m a ­ T h is i n tu r n d e c r e a s e s th e p r o d u c t io n o f c a r b o h y d r a t e s , 54 and w i t h t h e v e r y h i g h t o t a l n i t r o g e n c o n t e n t e x i s t i n g in th e c o p p e r - d e f ic ie n t p l a n t s , p ro d u ces a v ery u n fa v o r a b le carbohy­ d r a te /n itr o g e n r a tio f o r n o rm a l p l a n t d e v e l o p m e n t . These p l a n t s r e m a in e d v e g e t a t i v e and d i d n o t p r o d u c e h e a d s . c o p p e r w as a p p l i e d t o t h e p l a n t s , Where th e red u c in g su gar in th e p l a n t a d v a n c e d a p p r o x i m a t e l y i n t h e same o r d e r o f m a g n it u d e as th a t o f n itr o g e n . O a ts a c t s s i m i l a r l y t o w h e a t ( T a b l e 10 and F i g u r e 2 3 ) i n its g r o w th h a b i t s when i t s medium f o r g r o w t h i s a c o p p e r - d e f i c i e n t m uck. TABLE 10 R e s p o n s e o f o a t s t o c o p p e r grown o n a c o p p e r - d e f i c i e n t muck s o i l T reat­ m en t Y ie ld dry w t. g m s. A sh P e r c e n t c o m p o sitio n i n str a w Cu Fe N E P Ca Mg 1 No Cu 14 1 2 .5 .0 0 2 1 .0 2 4 4 .6 0 3 .1 9 .8 6 .8 1 .5 1 2 Cu 34 1 0 .0 .0 0 3 6 .0 1 5 2 .8 2 2 .4 9 .6 7 .4 6 .5 2 F i g . 23 C o m p a riso n b e t w e e n n o rm a l o a t l e a v e s ( l e f t ) , and c o p p e r - d e f i c i e n t o a t l e a v e s ( r i g h t ) . EXPERIMENT. 8 A c o r n c r o p w a s grow n i n t h e g r e e n h o u s e o n a c o p p e r d e f i c i e n t muck s o i l , w i t h and w i t h o u t c o p p e r . When t h e c o p p e r - d e f i c i e n t p l a n t s w e r e a b o u t two f e e t h i g h , fa ile d to u n r o ll a t th e te r m in a l p o r t io n . th e le a v e s D isin te g r a tio n o f p o r t i o n s o f t h e l e a v e s and d i s a p p e a r a n c e o f c h l o r o p h y l l appear' ed a t t h e s e a r e a s . The p l a n t s show n i n F i g u r e s 2 4 and 25 a r e e x a m p le s o f s u c h d e f i c i e n c y sym p tom s. a f t e r t h e s e symptoms had a p p e a r e d , A t a p p r o x i m a t e l y a w eek t h e p l a n t s r e c o v e r e d and p r o d u c e d a p p a r e n t l y n o rm a l p l a n t s . ( F i g u r e 2 6 ) . F i g . 24 C op p er d e f i c i e n c y symptoms i n c o r n . o f s e c o n d l e a f from l e f t t o u n r o l l . N ote f a i l u r e F ig . C o p p er d e f i c i e n c y symptoms i n c o r n . to g e th e r o f th ree le a v e s a t to p . N ote s t i c k i n g 25 H y b rid c o r n p l a n t s grow n w i t h and w i t h o u t c o p p e r a p p l i e d t o a muck s o i l . T reatm en ts w ere: (1) No c o p p e r , (2 ) C o p p er. The s e e d p l a n t e d w a s r a i s e d on m i n e r a l s o i l w h ic h showed no c o p p e r d e f i c i e n c y . Why s h o u l d c o r n show t h i s r e c o v e r y and g r o w t h w i t h o u t a c o p p e r a p p l i c a t i o n , w h e r e a s t h e d e f i c i e n c y symptoms w e r e so p r o n o u n c e d i n t h e c a s e o f w h e a t ? C om and w h e a t k e r n e l s fro m s a m p l e s u s e d i n p r e v i o u s p la n t in g s w ere a n a ly z e d f o r co p p er. p er w as fou nd p e r k e r n e l i n t h e F o u r t i m e s a s much c o p ­ corn th an i n th e w h ea t. T h is i n d i c a t e d t h e p o s s i b i l i t y t h a t t h e l a r g e r c o r n k e r n e l m ig h t have s u f f i c i e n t copper t o a id th e s e e d lin g p la n t i n i t s e a r ly grow th . H y b r id s e e d gro w n o n c o p p e r - d e f i c i e n t muck (n o c o p p e r a p p lie d ) a n d s e e d from c o p p e r - s u f f i c i e n t m i n e r a l s o i l w e r e p la n te d . The t r e a t m e n t s a r e g i v e n i n T a b l e 1 1 . TABLE 1 1 V a r i a b i l i t y o f c o r n s e e d , g row n w i t h and w i t h o u t c o p p e r , a s i n f l u e n c i n g t h e p r o d u c t i o n o f t h e s u c c e e d i n g cro p grown o n a c o p p e r - d e f i c i e n t muck s o i l . T r e a tm e n t 1* Y i e l d g m s. dry w t .. Corn s t a l k Cu P e r c e n t c o m p o sitio n in s t a l k s Fe N K P Ca Mg No Cu 19 .0 0 1 0 .0 1 9 2 .1 7 2 .0 4 .6 6 .4 6 .3 5 2** No Cu 33 .0 0 1 5 .0 1 8 2 .5 7 1 .9 1 .5 9 .5 8 .3 3 3***Cu 53 .0 0 2 0 .0 2 3 1 .5 3 1 .3 1 .4 6 .4 6 .3 0 Seeds p la n te d T r e a tm e n t * 1 No Cu grow n s e e d - Copper n o t a p p l i e d t o s o i l * * 2 Cu g row n s e e d - Copper n o t a p p l i e d t o s o i l * * * 3 Cu g ro w n s e e d - C op p er a p p l i e d t o s o i l A p r o g r e s s iv e d i f f e r e n c e in t h e y i e l d s b etw een tr e a tm e n ts i s n o ted . F i g u r e 27 p l a i n l y i l l u s t r a t e s t h e d i f f e r e n c e s w h ic h a c tu a lly e x is te d . ^ o v S V ’v"- "S : J F i g . 27 :l ~ d I i , i0 P * : F ig . 28 Corn l e a v e s fr o m n o rm a l and c o p p e r - d e f i c i e n t p l a n t s . (1 ) Top l e a f - fro m e x t r e m e l y c o p p e r - d e f i c i e n t p la n t i n l a t e s t a g e s o f m a t u r it y , (2) m id d le l e a f sh o w in g c o p p e r d e f i c i e n c y , ( 3 ) b o t t o m l e a f - from same p l a n t a s m i d d l e l e a f , o n e m onth a f t e r c o p p e r was a p p l i e d . F i g . 29 C om p arison o f c o p p e r - d e f i c i e n t and n o rm a l c o r n l e a v e s . The t h r e e c o p p e r - d e f i c i e n t l e a v e s sh ow , ( l e f t ) s t r i p e d c h l o r o s is a p p e a r in g , ( c e n te r ) c u r lin g o f te r m in a l p o r t i o n o f l e a f and l o s s o f c h l o r o p h y l l , ( r i g h t ) s t r i p e d c h l o r o s i s and d y i n g - b a c k fr o m e d g e s ; a l l a r e a t a n g l e s t o a n o rm a l l e a f w h ic h c r o s s e s from b o t t o m l e f t hand c o r n e r up i n t o t h e u p p e r r i g h t c o r n e r . 64 F i g . 30 Corn p l a n t s h o w in g c h a r a c t e r i s t i c c o p p e r d e f i c i e n c y sym p tom s. .Note c u r l i n g and s t i c k i n g t o g e t h e r o f le a v e s. F ig . S i i C o m p a r a tiv e d i f f e r e n c e s b e t w e e n n o rm a l ( l e f t ) and c o p p e r - d e f i c i e n t c o r n p l a n t s ( r i g h t ) s s t o l e r ig tii o f in t e r n o d e .? and d e v e l o p m e n t o f t a s s e l . 66 ISO CORN STALKS AND ROOTS — GRAMS PER JAR (DRY WEIGHT) CORN STALKS 100 CORN ROOTS PLANTS GROWN FROM SEED COPPER APPLIED NO-Cu Cu NO-Cu Cu STERILIZED MUCK UNSTERILIZED MUCK PLANTS GROWN FROM SEED NO COPPER APPLIED NO-Cu Cu NO-Cu Cu STERILIZED MUCK UNSTERILIZED MUCK TREATMENTS F'O. 32- RESPONSE OF CORN TO COPPER AND VARIATION OF YIELDS RESULTING FROM SOURCE OF SEED GROWN ON MUCK SOIL a TABLE 13 Y i e l d and c o m p o s i t i o n o f c o r n r o o t s a s e f f e c t e d "by s o u r c e o f s e e d p l a n t e d and a c o p p e r a p p l i c a t i o n t o t h e s o i l Corn r o o t s gm s. dry w e ig h t .0 0 1 0 .0 4 9 1 .8 3 2 .1 2 co * * KJ 1 Cu* 8 3 .9 2 .0 0 2 2 .0 5 5 2 .1 5 1 .1 0 No Cu 7 3 .9 6 .0 0 2 0 .0 4 0 1 .3 5 1 .6 1 .1 5 11 3 .6 3 .0 0 2 2 .0 4 5 .9 1 1 .1 0 .1 0 3 5 .7 9 .0 0 1 4 .0 4 5 2 .0 3 1 .8 5 .2 4 .3 8 .2 7 13 3 .5 0 .0 0 2 3 .0 4 1 1 .1 0 1 .2 1 .1 5 No c o p p e r grown s e e d to . . to .1 1 1____ ItO CD .2 4 I. Cu* .1 0 .1 4 t CO 1 No Cu 2 5 .0 0 .0 0 1 0 .0 4 4 1 .3 8 2 .0 2 .2 1 .2 7 .1 4 £ Cu* 9 4 .0 0 .0 0 1 9 .0 5 5 1 .0 8 1 .1 3 .1 1 .1 6 . .1 4 CO t VI .3 0 to1 to . No Cu .2 0 ------ 1 * to t | Copper grown seed 5 .3 3 * |oi M« 6 Cu* |