Nickel and chromium toxicity of serpentine soils in Southern Rhodesia
Very high nickel and chromium contents were found in many infertile soils derived from or near serpentine rocks in Southern Rhodesia. Data are given for nine typical soils. Various plant growth abnormalities are described for maize, tobacco, and oats grown on these soils. Plant contents of nickel and chromium are given. Exchangeable nickel showed a close correlation with the nickel content of indigenous grasses from the same sites. Attempts to measure available chromium were unsuccessful. Symptoms of maize and tobacco grown with various concentrations of chromium and nickel in sand culture were compared with symptoms obtained in the field. It is concluded that nickel toxicity is the cause of the acute infertility of some of the soils tested. On one soil the toxicity was so intense that raising the pH to 8.2 with calcium carbonate did not eliminate nickel uptake or toxicity symptoms in oats. Chromium toxicity appears to be associated with the infertility of other soils, but it is complicated by possible interaction between chromium and phosphorus and calcium in the soil-plant system.
- Research Organization:
- Federal Ministry of Agriculture of Rhodesia
- OSTI ID:
- 5683243
- Journal Information:
- Soil Sci.; (United States), Vol. 88
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
CHROMIUM
BIOLOGICAL AVAILABILITY
TOXICITY
MAIZE
PLANT GROWTH
NICKEL
NICOTIANA
OATS
SOUTHERN RHODESIA
LAND POLLUTION
CALCIUM
GRASS
PH VALUE
PHOSPHORUS
SERPENTINE
SOILS
TISSUE DISTRIBUTION
AFRICA
ALKALINE EARTH METALS
CEREALS
DISTRIBUTION
ELEMENTS
GROWTH
METALS
MINERALS
NONMETALS
PLANTS
POLLUTION
SILICATE MINERALS
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
510200* - Environment
Terrestrial- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (-1989)
560303 - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology- Plants- (-1987)