Study of Some Agronomical Traits of Corn (Zea mays L.) as Affected by Copper Fractions in Soils of East Azerbaijan

Abstract

Copper (Cu) is a necessary micronutrient for crops and its availability in calcareous soils is low. Phytoavailability of Cu depends on the relative distribution of different chemical Cu forms in soil, which is function of soil properties. In this greenhouse research, total soil Cu fractionated into different forms by sequential extraction procedure in 21 surface soil samples of East Azarbayjan province that varied in physical and chemical properties. According to the results, different Cu fractions concentration were as: Residual copper (Cu-Res) > Crystalline Fe oxides bound (Cu-CFeOX) > amorphous Fe oxides bound (Cu-AFeox) > Oranically bound (Cu-OM) > Carbonates bound (Cu-Car) > soluble +exchangeable (Cu-Ex) > Mn oxide bound (Cu-Mnox). Correlation coefficient showed that the corn shoot dry matter, corn shoot copper concentration and corn shoot copper content hadn’t significant correlation with soil copper forms. Cu-Car, Cu-MnOX, Cu-AFeOX, and Cu-Res had a significant relationship with corn shoot and root copper concentration.

Keywords

• Chemical Forms of Copper
• Concentration
• Copper
• Corn
• Sequential extraction