. Agri-news. Agriculture. September 23,1991 Copper unexpected solution to better wheat yields on sandy soils Alberta Agriculture specialists have found that copper is the key to producing better wheat, barley and oat crops on some soils. A research team with specialists from the department's soils and crop protection branches have been studying the effects of copper fertilizers on wheat, barley and oats over the last few years. Previously, they linked copper deficiency to low yields, poor quality, melanosis and ergot infestations in wheat and barley. This year their research was focused on inv
. Agri-news. Agriculture. September 23,1991 Copper unexpected solution to better wheat yields on sandy soils Alberta Agriculture specialists have found that copper is the key to producing better wheat, barley and oat crops on some soils. A research team with specialists from the department's soils and crop protection branches have been studying the effects of copper fertilizers on wheat, barley and oats over the last few years. Previously, they linked copper deficiency to low yields, poor quality, melanosis and ergot infestations in wheat and barley. This year their research was focused on investigating several production problems suggested to be related to copper deficient soils says leuan Evans, one of the researchers and supervisor of plant pathology in the crop protection branch. "What we've seen so far indicates there may be a full range of interrelated symptoms of copper deficiency, particularly in wheat crops. As well, copper fertilizers may strongly influence at least three diseases, and consequently crop yield and ; Sandy and light loam soils are those most likely to be copper deficient. Between two and three million acres of cultivated land in Alberta may be deficient in copper, one of the 16 essential nutrients for plant growth. That number of acres make this research of particular importance to Alberta farmers says Evans, as it will likely have a major positive impact on cereal yield and quality. "These types of sandy soils are where many farmers said they couldn't grow good wheat. Our 'esearch has shown that when you add copper fertilizer, not only does it result in phenomenal yield increases in wheat, but the added copper also virtually eliminates three ; Those three diseases are take-all, ergot and melanosis. Take-all is a root disease, sometimes known as charcoal root rot, that causes the crowns of wheat to rot after heading out so no grain kernels are produced. Ergot, a fungal disease, produces hard black kernel-
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