Comparing copper requirements of faba bean, chickpea, and lentil with spring wheat

The copper (Cu) requirement of four crop species was measured in a glasshouse experiment using yield of dried shoots and Cu content (Cu concentration multiplied by yield of dried shoots) of 62 day old plants grown in two different alkaline soils. The species compared were faba bean (Yicia faba L. cv. Fiord), chickpea (Cicer arietinum L. cv. Tyson), lentil (Lens culinaris Medik cv. Digger), and spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv. Stretton). The comparative Cu requirement of the species was determined from yields of dried shoots when no Cu fertilizer was applied, the amount of applied Cu required to produce the same percentage of the maximum (relative) yield of dried shoots, and the Cu content of dried shoots. The concentration of Cu in youngest tissue and in dried shoots was used to determine critical concentrations of Cu in tissue associated with 90% of the maximum yield. Faba bean used indigenous soil Cu more effectively than wheat, followed by chickpea and then lentil. As measured using both shoot yield and Cu content in shoots, the Cu requirement was lowest for faba bean, and increased in the order faba bean < wheat < chickpea < lentil. Copper concentration in dried youngest tissue and in dried shoots increased with an increase in the amount of added Cu. The critical Cu concentration in the youngest tissue was (mg Cu/kg): 4.6 for lentil, 2.6 for chickpea, 1.5 for wheat, and 2.8 for faba bean; corresponding values for dried shoots (mg Cu/kg) were 6.3 for lentil, 3.3 for chickpea, 2.8 for wheat, and 3.0 for faba bean.