Influence of organic matter on the availability of certain elements to barley seedlings grown by a modified neubauer method

Summary The influence of organic matter on the availability of 17 elements (Na, K, Cs¹³⁷, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, N, P, B, Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn, Mo, Al, and Si) to barley seedlings grown by a modified Neubauer technique was determined. Three different soils that were treated with dry ground mustard spinach leaves (1 g/100 g soil) and incubated for various lengths of time (0, 1, 2, 5, 9, 13, and 17 weeks) in moist condition before cropping were used for this study.The addition of organic matter to the soils increased the plant yields. The average N and K concentrations were consistently increased in the plants grown in soils with added organic matter. The average concentration of B, P, Na, Mg, Sr, Ba, and Si were almost consistently decreased in the plants. The average contents of Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ca, and Al varied with the soil types and precropping incubation time. The average Cs¹³⁷ contents of the plants were reduced considerably by the addition of organic matter to the soils. The reduction of Cs¹³⁷ contents ranged from 29 to 75 per cent, depending on the pre-cropping incubation time and soil type. The main factors causing this reduction were considered to be microbial immobilization, ion antagonism by K, carbohydrate dilution, and the state of decomposition and the kind of organic matter added to the soils.