Susceptibility of Grasses to Manganese Deficiency

Abstract

FROM the literature it would appear that the manganese requirements of the different species of grasses has received but scant attention. In general¹, it is considered that grass is much less susceptible to manganese deficiency-disease than oats and some other crops. That such a generalization is not possible has been shown by a study during the past two years of the comparative sensitivity of various species of grasses. For this purpose, a number of different species of the commoner grasses were grown in a soil-sand mixture in opaque glass pots, the experiment in every detail being conducted in a manner similar to that in which an investigation into the susceptibility of cereal varieties to manganese deficiency had previously been made by Gallagher and Walsh². One experiment was started in 1943 and continued into the following year, the grass herbage being harvested in the autumn. In a further investigation arising out of this experiment, the comparative reaction of some different strains of cocksfoot was examined in 1944. In this experiment a soil growing an oat crop showing 'grey speck', mixed with its own volume of washed silica sand, was used.