Soil phosphorus status, pH and the manganese nutrition of wheat

A pot experiment was carried out in order to test the hypothesis that manganese nutrition of wheat was dependent on the phosphorus status of soil as well as on its pH and manganese status. An arable mineral soil whose lime and phosphorus status had been massively adjusted more than 18 years previously was compared with identical soil not so adjusted. Wheat plants were grown to maturity in these soils. Analyses were carried out on both soil and plant samples at intervals. Data for soil pH, soil solution concentrations of manganese and phosphorus, plant dry weight and tissue concentrations of manganese and phosphorus are presented. Concentrations of manganese were depressed in leaf tissue of plants from limed soils and also in high phosphorus soils. The depressed values for limed treatments were explained in terms of depressed soil solution manganese concentrations resulting from elevated pH. The results for high phosphorus soils could not be related to soil solution composition. It was suggested that high soil phosphorus resulted in elevated plant phosphorus which interfered in the uptake and/or translocation of manganese.