THE EFFECT OF RESIDUAL COPPER LEVELS ON THE NUTRITION AND YIELD OF OATS GROWN IN MICROPLOTS ON 3 ORGANIC SOILS

Oats (Avena sativa L. cv. Garry) were grown in microplots of three organic soils at site A (peat), site B (muck) and site C (mucky peat) in the summer of 1983. The soil surface (0 to 20 cm) varied in total Cu from 13 to 1659, 135 to 1745, and 81 to 1063 .mu.g/g at sites A, B and C, respectively, due to applications of CuSO4 .cntdot. 5H2O made at three rates in 1978, at sites A and B, and in 1979 at site C. Neither the rates of Cu application nor total soil Cu influenced yields. High levels of residual Cu increased the levels of Cu in straw at sites A and B, and in grain at site C. However, even the highest levels of Cu in straw and grains were below the 20 .mu.g/g which is often considered to be the threshold of Cu phytotoxicity. Data on the levels of other nutrients (P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn, B, Mo and S) in the tops and roots of oats generally revealed no significantly adverse effects of the Cu applications or total accumulated Cu in the three soils.