Elemental
Abundance in Plant Tissue
Average elemental
composition of corn tissue (silage). From Troeh, Frederick and L.
M. Thompson. 1993. Soils and soil fertility. Oxford University Press.
New York.
|
Element
|
Corn
silage
|
|
|
|
ppm,
dry wt.
|
%,
dry wt.
|
oxygen
|
450,000
|
45
|
| carbon
|
440,000
|
44
|
hydrogen
|
63,000
|
6.3
|
nitrogen
|
13,000
|
1.3
|
silicon
|
12,000
|
1.2
|
potassium
|
9,000
|
0.9
|
calcium
|
2,500
|
0.25
|
| phosphorus
|
1,600
|
0.16
|
magnesium
|
1,600
|
0.16
|
sulfur
|
1,500
|
0.15
|
chlorine
|
1,500
|
0.15
|
aluminum
|
1,100
|
0.11
|
| sodium |
300
|
0.03
|
| iron
|
90
|
0.009
|
manganese
|
60
|
0.006
|
zinc
|
30
|
0.003
|
boron
|
10
|
0.001
|
copper
|
5
|
0.0005
|
| molybdenum
|
1
|
0.0001
|
Be
aware that elemental concentrations in plant tissue can vary widely
for a given crop depending on the stage of growth and environmental
conditions and for different crops, yet plants can still appear
normal and healthy. For some elements the range of sufficiency is
wide and for others the range is narrow. A good deal of caution
needs to be exercised in diagnosing mineral deficiencies based only
on plant tissue analysis.
|