Project Number
WW 03-11
Project title
Determination of the Copper Content of Nursery Soils and the Effect this May have on Root Development and Percentage take of Grapevines
Project leader
Conradie, W J
Team members
Van Huyssteen, I
Project description
In a survey that was done in commercial nurseries, it was found that increased copper levels in soils can have a negative effect on root development of grafted vines. The exact level at which copper in nursery soils can become suppressive to root development has not been determined yet, but appears to be lower than 10 mg/kg. In contrast to manganese and zinc, where uptake was suppressed on soils with higher pH values, higher pHs had little effect on the uptake of copper. However, increases in soil salinity did suppress the uptake of copper.
Presentation(s)
Van Huyssteen, I, Louw, P J E and Conradie, W J. 1997. The effect of copper sprays on the copper content of soil and grape must – a case study. 22nd National Congress of the South African Society for Enology and Viticulture, 27-28 November, Cape Town, South Africa.