Abstract
Plants that remove an excess of cations over anions may cause soil acidification. The acidification potential of plants has been evaluated using solution culture techniques, but the influence of ionic composition of the medium on the plant cation-anion balance remains unclear. Our objective was to determine how electrolyte concentration and salt type affect the cation- anion balance of two test plants [barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and kochia (Kochia scoparia L. Schrad.)]. Seedlings were grown in sand culture and irrigated with nutrient solution (Hoagland’s solution), which was adjusted to a range of electrolyte concentrations (target electrical conductivity of 7.5, 17.5 and 27.5 dS m−1) using either chloride or sulphate salts. Increase in electrolyte concentration reduced yield of kochia, a salt-tolerant plant, by up to 38%. Total cation (Ca + Mg + K + Na) equivalents in kochia exceeded those of anions (Cl + S + P + NO3) by 250 to 280 cmolc kg−1 of dry matter. Electrolyte concentration had no effect on the cation-anion balance of kochia, but excess cation values were significantly greater in the sulphate than in the chloride system. Kochia had a large content of water-soluble oxalate (194 to 226 cmolc kg−1), which was linearly related to the excess cation content. Growth of barley was severely restricted at the intermediate and high electrolyte concentrations. Cations exceeded anions by 21 to 59 cmolc kg−1 of barley dry matter. Excess cation content was greater in the sulphate than in the chloride medium, but electrolyte concentration did not have a consistent effect on the cation-anion balance. The small amounts of oxalate found in barley (0.9 to 2.6 cmolc kg−1) were insufficient to balance the cation excess.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bolan N S, Hedley M J and White R E 1991 Processes of soil acidification during nitrogen cycling with emphasis on legume based pastures. Plant Soil 134, 53–63.
Bouman O T, Curtin D, Campbell C A, Biederbeck V O and Ukrainetz H 1995 Soil acidification from long-term use of anhydrous ammonia and urea. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 59, 1488–1494.
Coventry D R and Slattery W J 1991 Acidification of soil associated with lupins grown in a crop rotation in south-eastern Victoria. Aust. J. Agric. Res. 42, 391–397.
Curtin D, Steppuhn H and Selles F 1993 Plant responses to sulfate and chloride salinity: growth and ionic relations. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 57, 1304–1310.
De Klein C A M, Monaghan R M and Sinclair A G 1997 Soil acidification: a provisional model for New Zealand pastoral systems. N.Z. J. Agric. Res, 40, 541–557.
Francois L E, Donovan T J, Lorenz K and Maas E V 1989 Salinity effects on rye grain yield, quality, vegetative growth, and emergence. Agron. J. 81, 707–712.
Haynes R J 1986 Uptake and assimilation of mineral nitrogen by plants.In Mineral Nitrogen in the Plant-Soil System. Ed. R J Haynes. pp. 303–378. Academic Press, London.
Hoagland D R and Arnon D I 1950 The water culture method for growing plants without soil. Calif. Agric. Exp. Stn. Circ. No. 347.
Jarvis S C and Robson A D 1983a The effects of nitrogen nutrition of plants on the development of acidity in Western Australian soils. II. Effects of differences in cation/anion balance between plant species grown under non-leaching conditions. Aust. J. Agric. Res. 34, 341–353.
Jarvis S C and Robson A D 1983b A comparison of the cation/anion balance of ten cultivars ofTrifolium subterraneum L., and their effects on soil acidity. Plant Soil 75, 235–243.
Libert B and Franceschi V R 1987 Oxalate in crop plants. J. Agric. Food Chem. 35, 926–938.
Ma J F, Ryan P R and Delhaize E 2001 Aluminium tolerance in plants and the complexing role of organic acids. Trends Plant Sci. 6, 273–278.
Maas, E V 1990 Crop salt tolerance.In Agricultural Salinity Assessment and Management. ASCE Manuals Rep. Eng. Practice no. 71. Ed. K K Tanji. pp. 262–304. Am. Soc. Civil Engin., New York.
Magat S S and Goh K M 1990 Effects of chloride fertilizers on ionic composition and cation-anion balance and ratio of fodder beet (Beta vulgaris L.) grown under field conditions. N.Z. J. Agric. Res. 33, 29–40.
Marschner H 1986 Mineral nutrition of higher plants. Academic Press. New York.
McLay C D A, Barton L and Tang C 1997 Acidification potential of ten grain legume species grown in nutrient solution. Aust. J. Agric. Res. 48, 1025–1032.
Monaghan R M, Morrison J D and Sinclair A G 1998 Soil acidification through carbon cycling in legumes - a pot experiment examining the contributions from white clover, lotus, Caucasian clover, and lucerne. N.Z. J. Agric. Res. 41, 243–250.
Pierre W H and Banwart W L 1973 Excess-base and excess-base/nitrogen ratio of various crop species and parts of plants. Agron. J. 65, 91–96.
Redmann R E and Feduc P 1987 Mineral composition of halophytes in western Canada. Commun. Soil Sci. Plant Anal. 18, 559–579.
Steppuhn H, Coxworth H, Kernan J A, Green D G and Knipfel J E 1994 Response ofKochia scoparia to nitrogen fertilization on a saline soil. Can. J. Soil Sci. 74, 267–275.
Steppuhn H and Wall K 1993Kochia scoparia emergence from saline soil under various water regimes. J. Range Manage. 46, 533–538.
Steppuhn H and Wall K G 1999 Canada’s salt tolerance testing laboratory. Can. Agric. Engin. 41, 185–189.
Tang C, McLay C D A and Barton L 1997 A comparison of proton excretion of twelve pasture legumes grown in nutrient solution. Aust. J. Expt. Agric. 37, 563–570.
Tang C and Rengel Z 2003 Role of plant cation/anion uptake ratio on soil acidification.In Handbook of soil acidity. Ed. Z Rengel. pp. 57–81. Marcel Dekker, New York.
Thomas M D, Hendricks R H and Hill G R 1950 Sulfur content of vegetation. Soil Sci. 70, 9–18.
Troelstra S R, van Dijk K and Blacquiere T 1985 Effects of N source on proton excretion, ionic balance and growth ofAlnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertner: comparison of N2 fixation with single and mixed sources of NO3 and NH4. Plant Soil 84, 361–385.
Varley J A 1966 Automatic methods for the determination of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in plant material. Analyst (London) 91, 119–126.
Watanabe F S, Olsen S R and Cole C V 1971 Ionic balance and growth of five plant species in four soils. Agron. J. 63, 23–28.
Zhao F.J, Hawkesford M J and McGrath S P 1999 Sulphur assimilation and effects on yield and quality of wheat. J. Cereal Sci. 30, 1–17.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Curtin, D., Wen, G. Plant cation-anion balance as affected by the ionic composition of the growing medium. Plant Soil 267, 109–115 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-005-3991-8
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-005-3991-8