Summary
Ten cultivars of subterranean clover were grown in pots on a poorly buffered, sandy soil of pH 4.9; the plants were dependent throughout upon symbiotic fixation for their supply of N. There were some marked increases in soil acidity which resulted in changes in pH of 0.76 to 1.08 (mean 0.94) units. Increasing soil acidity was associated with an increasing total content of excess cations,i.e. (Ca2+++Mg2++K++Na+)−(H2PO t-4 +SO 2-4 +Cl−), which ranged from 15.8 to 21.9 meq pot−1. The differences between the cultivars in their effects on acidity were largely related to differences in growth rather than to marked differences in the concentration of total cations or inorganic anions. There was no obvious grouping amongst the ten cultivars in terms of either their effects on soil pH, or on their uptake of manganese.
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On study leave from the Grassland Research Institute, Hurley, Maidenhead, Berks. SL65LR. U.K.
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Jarvis, S.C., Robson, A.D. A comparison of the cation/anion balance of ten cultivars ofTrifolium subterraneum L., and their effects on soil acidity. Plant Soil 75, 235–243 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02375569
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02375569