J. E. Kinnear

Phytotoxicity and some interactions of the essential trace metals iron, manganese, molybdenum, zinc, copper, and boron

Abstract The essential trace elements Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, and B in high concentrations can produce phytotoxicities. Iron toxicity resulted from 5 × 10‐4 M and 10‐3 M FeSO4, but not from equivalent amounts of FeEDDHA (ferric ethylenediamine di (o‐hydroxyphenylacetic acid) ). Leaf concentrations in bush beans of 465 μg Mn/g, 291 μg B/g, and 321 μg Zn/g all on the dry weight basis resulted in 27%, 45%, and 34% reduction in yields of leaves, respectively. Zinc was concentrated in roots while Mn and B concentrated in leaves. Solution concentrations of MnS04 of 10‐3 and 10‐2 M depressed leaf yields of bush beans by 63% and 83%, respectively, with 5140 and 10780 μg Mn/g dry weight of leaves. Copper concentrations were simultaneously increased and those of Ca were decreased. Bush bean plants grown in Yolo loam soil with 200 μg Cu/g soil had a depression in leaf yield of 26% (with 28. 8 μg Cu/g leaf); plants failed to grow with 500 μg Cu/g soil. A level of 10‐3 M H2MoO4 was toxic to bush beans grown in solution cultur...

Single and multiple trace metal excess effects on three different plant species

Abstract Three crops of plants (corn (Zea mays L. cv. Golden Cross N.C.). barley (Hordeum vulgare L. cv. Atlas), soybeans (Glycine max L. cv. Hawkeye and PI54619–5–1) were grown in succession in flats of Yolo loam soil which had received in μg/g soil 0, 13 Li, 200 Zn, 200 Cu, 75 Co, 100 Ni, and 100 Cd both singly and in various combinations. The three plant species with two cultivars of soybeans reacted differently to the trace metals. Protective (competitive), additive and synergistic effects were all present. The treatments slightly modified soil pH but this did not explain all effects. Barley was most tolerant of the trace metals and yield depression occurred only when all six trace metals were applied simultaneously and this probably because of metal induced P deficiency.

Effect of washing procedures on mineral analyses and their cluster analyses for orange leaves.

Abstract Fifty mature orange leaves were divided into groups of 10 and each group received a different washing procedure (control, wipe only with cloth, wipe plus detergent and acid (1/10N HC1) wash, acid wash, wiping and acid wash followed by deionized water). The objective was to determine if the so‐called dust elements (Fe, Al, Si, Ti) clustered together when dust was cleaned from leaves. The clustering was changed by washing procedures. Calcium, Na, Cu, and Mn concentrations were not changed by washing. Phosphorus, Mg, and K were lost from leaves by leaching with severe washing. Dust or contaminating Fe, Al, Si, Ti, and Pb were removed by all washing procedures but wiping with acid tended to decrease the coefficient of variation among samples.

Frequency distribution of several trace metals in 72 corn plants grown together in contaminated soil in a glasshouse

Abstract A 9‐kg quantity of Yolo loam soil was contaminated in sequence with (In μg/g soil) 100 Cd, 100 Zn, 100 Co, 12.5 Li, and 100 Ni. Corn (Zea mays L. C. V. Golden Cross N. C. ) was grown together in the soil for 22 days from seed. Seventy‐two harvested plants were assayed separately. Several different trace metals were tested for normal and loge frequency distribution patterns. Some followed loge normal distribution more closely than a normal distribution as indicated by kurtosis values. Two followed normal distribution more closely than loge normal distribution. Some negative skewness was observed with the loge normal distribution, but only that for Co was significant. The yields of the plants were significantly and negatively correlated with the concentrations of Ni, Co, Cu, and Cd in shoots. Stepwise regression analysis indicated that it was reasonably Possible to determine which of the trace metals of the mixture caused phytotoxicity. Some pairs of trace metals were highly and positively correlat...

Frequency distribution of lithium in leaves of Lycium andersonii

Abstract Lvcium andersonii A. Gray is an accumulator of Li. Assays were made of 200 samples of it collected from six different locations within the Northern Mojave Desert. Mean concentrations of Li varied from location to location and tended not to follow loge normal distribution, and to follow a normal distribution only poorly. There was some negative skewness tp the loge distribution which did exist. The results imply that the variation in accumulation of Li depends upon native supply of Li. Possibly the Li supply and the ability of L. andersonii plants to accumulate it are both loge normally distributed. The mean leaf concentration of Li in all locations was 29 μg/g, but the maximum was 166 μg/g.

Metal ratios as an index of plant species differences on uptake characteristics of different trace metals

Abstract Six plant species were grown in a flat of Yolo loam soil (fine‐silty, mixed, thermic Typic Xerorthents) which had been uniformly blended with 133 Cu, 50 Co, 100 Cd, 67 Ni, 13 Li and 133 Zn as μg/g soil. The trace metals stopped new growth of bush beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L. Improved Tender‐green), inhibited growth of corn (Zea mays L. Golden Cross), but did not inhibit growth of mint (Mentha viridis), barley (Hordeum vulgare L. Atlas), or wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Mineral analyses were made of leaves on shoots of the plants and from the data, ratios of various elements were calculated for each species by a computer program. Ratios of element pairs for different plant species and ratios of one species to another for given elements indicated common relationships among Zn, Cu, Fe, Mn and Cd.

Tolerance of rice plants to trace metals

Abstract The tolerance of rice (Oryza sativa L. C.V. Earlirose) to various trace metal excesses was tested to determine if high levels of the trace metals found in some field‐grown plants were at toxicity levels. In one experiment, levels of 2200 μg Zn/g dry weight, 44 μg Cu/g dry weight, 4400 μg Mn/g dry weight, and 32 μg Pb/g dry weight in shoots of young plants had no adverse effects on vegetative yields. A level of 3160μgZn/ g dry weight decreased yields about 40% (P = . 05). In another test 51 μg Cu/g dry weight or 94 μg Pb/g dry weight did not decrease vegetative yields. Boron supplied at 10‐3 MH3BO3 not only caused no toxicity but resulted in only 144 μg B/g dry weight in shoots. Root levels of Zn were about equal to those in shoots; Mn levels were lower in roots than in shoots (1/4 to 1/10); B levels were generally low in both shoots and roots with roots 1/10 that of shoots; Cu levels were higher in roots than in shoots. Rice was tolerant of a high level of Cr. The tolerance of rice to high levels...

Metal interactions in bush bean plants grown in a glasshouse in amended serpentine soils from California

Abstract Bush beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L. C.V. Improved Tendergreen) were grown with amendments in a glasshouse in two different serpentine soils from California. These serpentine soils are not high in Ni and Cr as in other areas of the world and the purpose of the study was to define the reasons for low plant yields in these two soils. The two soils behaved very differently. One seemed to have simple P deficiency and a mild imbalance of Ca‐Mg. The other soil appeared to have a severe Ca deficiency, the correction of which tended to increase Mg uptake also, but with improved yields. Present also seemed to be Zn, Cu, Al, Ni toxicities even though the levels of each were not high by leaf analysis tests. Stepwise regression for plants from one of the soils indicated that Cu concentration in leaves accounted for 60% of the yield variation (negative correlation), that Ca accounted for 9% more of it, and that P accounted for 13% more for a total of 82%. In the presence of low levels of Ca, some, at least, of t...