Gerry Ritchie

Labile Al in the soil solution measured by 8-hydroxyquinoline (AlHQ) was a better predictor of plant growth than trivalent Al (AlIC3+) measured by ion chromatography (IC). HQ reacted with some organic Al complexes which did not separate during chromatography. In the presence of oxalic acid, AlHQ was greater than AlIC3+, which was the same as the gr...

SUMMARYA change in the pH of the rhizosphere may alter the effect that organic ligands have on the concentration of Zn in the soil solution. To assess this effect, Zn adsorption by a lateritic soil was measured in the presence of 0, 1 and 3 mM of citrate and oxalate at nine values of pH ranging from pH 2 to 8. The concentrations of Zn and the ligan...

The aim was to determine whether the addition of F to an acid soil reduces the concentration of free Al3+ and other forms that have been shown to be toxic to plants. The ability of two different extracts to reflect Al speciation in the soil solution was also investigated. Addition of F (0-5.2μmolg−1) to an acid soil (pH 4.15, soil solution) increas...

A previous study with a range of soils indicated that adsorption of copper could not be adequately described by the Freundlich equation. Adsorption curves for all but a highly calcareous soil could be divided into two straight lines with a marked increase in slope at low solution concentrations. A computer program (QELIOS) has now been used to calc...

In a glasshouse, a split-root experiment was used to determine the ability oflupins (Lupinus angustifolius L.) to take up manganese(Mn) from dry soil either when young or at mid-flowering of the primarybranches. Three soil-watering regimes (maintained at field capacity,maintained below wilting point, and alternating from field capacity to wellbelow...

Our ability to predict toxic quantities of aluminium (Al) in acidic soils is limited by our understanding of the interactions between different solid forms of Al in solution and our lack of knowledge of which form control soluble Al. This review briefly considers each type of solid form of Al, particularly from a kinetic point of view and discusses...

Most of the Cd applied through phosphatic fertilizers in sandy soils tends to stay in mobile forms (soluble or exchangeable) and hence the risk of it leaching to underground water or its uptake by plants is higher. A sequential extraction procedure was used to assess the efficacy of amending materials (soils containing inorganic or organic adsorpti...

A glasshouse experiment "was conducted to investigate gypsum application and leaching on the amelioration of" an aluminium (Al) toxic subsoil for wheat growth. Treatments included different rates of gypsum application and amount of leaching prior to wheat being grown. Wheat shoot growth increased when gypsum was applied in both the presence and abs...

Phosphorus (P) in wastes from piggeries may contribute to the eutrophication of waterways if not disposed of appropriately. Phosphorus leaching, from three soils with different P sorption characteristics (two with low P retention and one with moderate P retention) when treated with piggery effluent (with or without struvite), was investigated using...

The choice of management practices for the treatment of piggery effluent prior to its disposal to waterways or land is governed by the desire to simultaneously minimise the cost of treatment whilst minimising pollution of the environment. Laboratory experiments were conducted to compare the removal of total and total filterable phosphorus (P) (<0.4...

The interacting effects between topsoil water supply, nitrogen (N) placement and subsoil aluminum (Al) toxicity on wheat growth were studied in two split‐root pot experiments. The native nitrate‐N (NO3‐N) in the topsoil used in each experiment differed and were designated as high (3706 μM) and low (687 μM) for experiments one and two, respectively....

Unlike many plants reported in the literature, lupins do not excrete OH− in amounts equivalent to the net excess of inorganic anion uptake over inorganic cation uptake. To investigate the mechanisms involved in the maintenance of charge balance, nutrient uptake and organic anion accumulation of lupins and peas supplied with a range of NO3− concentr...

Amelioration of subsoil acidity using gypsum (CaSO4.2H2O) or lime (CaCO3) was studied on sandy textured soils with low water holding capacity in a low rainfall environment. Field trials were established in 1989 at two sites on yellow sandplain soils to investigate whether different rates, sources and combinations of gypsum and lime application coul...

Two field trials were sampled to investigate the changes to soil solution chemical properties of a yellow sandplain soil with an acidic subsoil following the application of gypsum and lime to the soil surface in 1989. The soils were sandy textured and located in a region of low annual rainfall (300-350 mm). Soil was sampled annually to a depth of 1...

Changes in the forms of Cd with time could affect its uptake by plants and hence potential toxicity to animals and humans. The effect of time on the forms of native and added Cd was studied in four West Australian soils which differed in their clay, hydrous oxide and organic matter content. Sequential extraction of soluble (KCl), exchangeable (BaCl...

The cultivation of narrow-leafed lupins (Lupinus angustifolius L.) increase rates of subsoil acidification, and this is thought to be partly related to their pattern of nutrient uptake and H+/OH- excretion. The main hypothesis of this study was that H+ and OH- excretion is not distributed evenly over the entire length of the root system but is limi...

In order to manage phosphorus (P) losses from soils to waterbodies, knowledge of the mechanisms through which P is retained or released from the soil is essential. Sandy soils of the Peel-Harvey catchment (Western Australia) were subjected to a range of environmental and management factors in the laboratory and field in order to gain an understandi...

Temporal variation in two soil tests ([Al] and the ratio [Al]:[Na] in 1:5 0.005M KCl extract) and pH were evaluated on six occasions during a twelve month study of eleven yellow earths in the Merredin region (31°5, 118°E) of Western Australia. The [Al] and ratio [Al]:[Na] in 1:5 0.005M KCl extracts are useful soil tests capable of distinguishing be...

Zinc uptake by plants may be influenced by its reaction with organic ligands in the rhizosphere. Therefore, four experiments were conducted to examine the effects of an organic ligand (citrate) and pH on the uptake of Zn by wheat (Triticum aestivum L. emend. Thell). Plants were grown for 21 to 28 d in a nutrient solution (containing 0-0.05 µmol L-1...

The effect of organic ligands on zinc (Zn) adsorption in the rhizosphere may be influenced by microbial activity depleting the concentration of the ligand over time. Zinc adsorption by sterile and non‐sterile lateritic soil was measured by shaking the soils with Zn solutions at a soil‐liquid ratio of 1: 5 for five periods of time ranging from 17–48...

A soil copper fractionation was carried out on soils sampled from plots in a long-term copper fertilizer trial on a lateritic sandy soil in Western Australia. At copper application rates up to 8.25 kg copper sulphate ha-1, a high proportion of the applied copper was initially associated with the soil organic matter. During the course of the trial (...

The forms of cadmium in soils affect its uptake by plants and hence its potential toxicity to animals and humans. We studied the effect of pH on the forms of native and added Cd in four West Australian soils which differed in their clay, hydrous oxide and organic matter content. The forms of Cd were extracted sequentially by KCl, BaCl2, NaOCl, ammo...

Toxic concentrations of soluble A1 in the subsoil decrease the yield of wheat grown on many yellow earths in the eastern wheatbelt of Western Australia. In our previous research (Carr et al. 1991), we observed variable plant response to high concentrations of soluble Al in subsoils of yellow earths in different regions of the wheatbelt. Environment...

An 'across the fence' comparison of farmer paddocks with nearby virgin bush sites was made at 3 locations, to measure the effects of lupins and subterranean clover based pastures on the chemical properties of the soil. Estimated rates of acidification in the 0-60 cm depth were 0.29-0.55 kmol H+/ha.year for wheat-lupin paddocks and 0.16-0.2 1 kmol H...

A pot experiment was conducted to establish whether gypsum or lime could increase wheat growth in an acid subsoil. Wheat (Triticum aestivum c. v. Gutha) was grown in 3 kg of soil which had been mixed with basal nutrients and different rates of gypsum and lime. Wheat in the treatment which received no gypsum or lime showed the most severe nutrient d...

The effect of sesquioxidic gravels (>2 mm size fraction) on phosphorus sorption by two gravelly lateritic soils was investigated by phosphorus sorption experiments, X-ray diffraction, autoradiography and electron microscopy.In one soil the abundance and size of gravels decreased downslope. As the gravel content of both soils increased (13-61%), the...

Total Al concentration or pH in 1∶5 10 mM CaCl2 extracts and exchangeable Al in 100 mM BaCl2 extracts cannot always distinguish between Al-toxic and Al-nontoxic topsoils. Our objectives were to compare the abilities of different measures of Al and pH in various extracts to predict the effects of acidity on growth and nodulation of subterranean clov...

Al toxicity in plants is related to the activity of Al and Al‐hydroxy monomers in the soil solution, whereas Al complexed with ligands such as fluoride (F), sulphate (SO4 ), and oxalate is not toxic. Estimation of toxic Al relies on measurement of “labile”; Al after short contact times with colorimetric reagents or cation‐exchange resins. However,...

Cadmium (Cd) may accumulate in soils which have been regularly fertilized with phosphate fertilizers which contain Cd originating in rock phosphate. Soil was taken from three sites in the wheatbelt of Western Australia which were estimated to have received different amounts of phosphate fertilizer over the past decade. The pH was adjusted with dilu...

Many of the yellow earths in the Western Australian wheatbelt have naturally acidic subsoils which can reduce the yield of wheat grown on them. Current methods of assessing soil acidity cannot identify which soils have subsoil acidity severe enough to restrict wheat yields. We conducted 53 field experiments at 34 sites in 5 regions over 3 years to...

Zinc adsorption by a lateritic podzolic soil was measured in the presence of 0 to 3 mmol/litre of acetate, oxalate, citrate, tricarballylate, salicylate, or catechol, or 0 to 3 mmolc/litre of humate. Zinc remaining in solution was measured by atomic absorption spectrometry after shaking the soil for 17 h at a soil/liquid ratio of 1:5 in a 0.003 mol...

The zinc (Zn) content of particle size fractions of 12 mainly Zn deficient soils was measured by extraction with three contrasting extractants. The soils, which ranged from sands to a black earth, were from Western Australia and Queensland and particle size fractions (clay, silt, fine sand, coarse sand) were obtained by sieving and sedimentation af...

Navy beans (Phaseolus vulgaris cv. Gallaroy) were grown with 7 rates of zinc (Zn) in a Zn-deficient gravelly sandy loam in a glasshouse experiment. The plant shoots were harvested 31 days after sowing and the Zn concentration in each of 4 plant parts (YL, young leaf; YOL, young open leaf; YFEL, youngest fully expanded leaf; and whole shoots) was re...

The effect of the incubation of zinc (Zn) applied to the soil on Zn uptake and the Zn concentrations in chemical extractants was studied. In a glasshouse experiment using a Zn-deficient gravelly sandy loam, the effect of recently applied Zn was compared with that of Zn incubated with the soil for 15 days at 40°C on growth and Zn uptake by navy bean...

Three equations for estimating the concentration of free aluminium, [Al], from the activity of free fluoride, (F), were compared to assess their suitability for estimating [Al] in acid soil solutions and in competition studies. We then studied the ability of humic acids to compete with F for Al by comparing the behaviour of the humic acids in the p...

Resin extractable Mo explained 72% of the variation in yield of wheat (Triticum aestivum) grown on ten acid soils as measured by the relative yield of the tops or by the uptake of Mo by the youngest emerged blade.

The consequences of previous as well as current environmental conditions and management practices on the potential for phosphorus (P) to be lost by drainage from sandy soils in the short term (< 1 year) were studied in the laboratory and the field. The potential for P losses by drainage was estimated by measuring soil solution P levels and rapidly...

Long-term phosphorus (P) losses and gains in sandy soils continuously fertilized with either ordinary superphosphate or coastal superphosphate (a granulated mixture of superphosphate, rock phosphate and elemental sulfur) or previously fertilized with superphosphate were investigated under leaching conditions in columns in the laboratory. The soils...

Piggery effluent may contribute to the eutrophication of waterways, if it is not treated before disposal, because of high levels of phosphorus. Limes and red muds (a residue from bauxite refining) were used to remove phosphorus from piggery effluent (41 mg litre(-1) total P). Lime-based amendments were more effective than the red muds at removing p...

The inorganic forms of Al in the soil solution that decrease plant growth in acid soils have not been clearly identified. Therefore, we examined the effects of Al and its complexes with F- and SO42- on the root elongation of barley (Hordeum vulgare) in nutrient solutions containing 3333 μmol Ca L-1 and 6 μmol B L-1 at pH 4.5. The anions were chosen...

The pH and buffer capacity of two soils increased or remained constant after incubation with different amounts of plant material (lucerne cham at field capacity and when air dry. For both soils, the pH changes were greater at field capacity, whereas the buffer capacities were independent of the water treatments. The pH changes observed could be exp...

The average ionic strength of 20 West Australian soils was found to be 0.0048. The effects of three electrolytes (deionized water, CaCl2 and KNO3), three ionic strengths (0.03, 0.005 and soil ionic strength at field capacity, Is) and two soil liquid ratios (1:5 and 1:10) on the pH of 15 soils were investigated. pH measurements in solutions of ionic...