The influence of soil properties,total copper,iron, manganese,and zinc on the yield of oat,carrot, onion and lettuce |
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| Abstract: | Abstract As part of a series of studies for evolving useful soil tests for Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn in cultivated organic soils, 55 such soils from eastern Canada were used in a greenhouse study. Oat, carrot, onion, and all three followed by lettuce were grown in a greenhouse in 2 L pots containing 1.8 L of soil. The moisture, fertilization and temperature conditions provided were known to be non‐Hmiting. And yet, yields of crops, on per kg soil basis, generally correlated negatively with certain soil properties. The more decomposed and denser soils tended to be less productive, even though more soil, but not significantly less water, was accessible to the roots in such soils than in the case of less decomposed, more open soils. In contrast, crop yield per unit soil volume (1.8 L) basis showed a negative effect of water holding capacity on yield of oat, and positive effect of pH on carrot yield. No other correlations were significant. The results thus corroborated the practice of basing soil tests and fertilizer reconmendations on volume rather than weight of organic soils; indicated that the quality of organic soils, in terms of ability to store and cycle water, oxygen and nutrients, declines with length of cultivation, even before nutritional and water management problems arise, probably due to poor soil aeration; and suggested that the effect of soil quality on potential productivity be examined to derive factors that would help refine fertilizer recommendations. |
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