Studies on the adsorption and availability of copper in some arid soils

Summary Eight texturally different arid soils have been studied for the adsorption reactions of copper and thereby evaluated for their quantity, intensity and supply parameters for the copper. In these soils with the addition of increasing amounts of copper there was increase in the equilibrium concentration, adsorption, per cent saturation of adsorption capacity and supply parameter of copper. However, negative relationship of differential buffering capacity with quantity, intensity and supply parameters revealed that the sandy loam soils exhibited comparatively more resistance to change in the solution concentration of copper. Multiple regression analysis revealed that in all soils quantity, intensity and differential buffering capacity were the sole parameters accounting for the supply of the nutrient. Sandy loam soils having comparatively higher values for the adsorption maxima, bonding energy constant and differential buffering capacity of the soils required higher doses of applied copper to change in the solution concentration than in sandy soils.