Abstract
The relationship of copper supply to the content and movement of copper among organs of wheat plants was examined at seven stages in their growth from seedlings to maturity on a copper deficient sand. In the absence of copper (Cu0), plants became severely copper deficient and produced no grain; development of tillers, leaves, stems, and inflorescences was delayed and growth of roots strongly depressed; leaf senescence was retarded and tiller growth was prolonged. Application of a marginal supply of copper (Cu1) overcame all symptoms and promoted growth and grain production. Increasing copper supply eightfold (Cu2) did not change vegetative or grain production. Copper concentrations in stems, individual leaves, and whole tops were highest and responded most strongly to copper supply when they were young. As they aged, Cu1 and Cu2 leaves lost copper rapidly; the first Cu0 leaves retained their copper and remained healthy for more than 7 weeks even though younger leaves developed severe copper deficiency. In all treatments, loss of copper from the oldest leaf paralleled senescence and the loss of nitrogen. It is suggested that copper does not move out of plant leaves until they lose organic nitrogen compounds. As a result, copper behaves in non-senescent leaves as if it is not mobile in plant phloem. But under conditions favouring senescence, copper is highly mobile: in the present experiment, 67 per cent of the copper present in vegetative organs of the Cu2 primary shoot at flowering moved from them during grain development and this could account for all of the copper found in the grain at maturity. The retention of copper by leaves before senescence, its rapid loss during senescence, and the effect of copper deficiency in delaying senescence resulted in the oldest leaf of severely deficient Cu0 plants in the present experiment having a higher copper concentration than that of copper adequate Cu1 and Cu2 plants. This behaviour could account for the many reports of anomalous C-shaped ‘Piper-Steenbjerg’ curves in the relationship of yield to copper concentrations in plant tops. The coupling of copper movement from leaves to nitrogen movement can also account for the unusually high values reported for critical concentrations of copper in tops of plants given high levels of nitrogen fertilizers. Old organs should not be included in samples for diagnosis of copper deficiency. Only young organs should be used. In the present experiment, the copper concentration of young leaves gave a good indication of the copper status of wheat: a value of 1 μg g−1 in young leaves indicated copper deficiency.
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Claims 12
Claim · model-written summary
Wheat grown without copper became severely copper deficient and produced no grain.
- Taxon
- wheat
Triticum aestivume0 - Treatment
- absence of copper (Cu0)e1
- Outcome
- produced no graine1
Not reportedComparatorDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“among organs of wheat plants”
e1“In the absence of copper (Cu0), plants became severely copper deficient and produced no grain”
Claim · model-written summary
A marginal copper supply (Cu1) overcame all deficiency symptoms and promoted growth and grain production in wheat.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume0
- Treatment
- marginal supply of copper (Cu1)e2
- Outcome
- growth and grain productione2
- Direction
- promotede2
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“among organs of wheat plants”
e2“Application of a marginal supply of copper (Cu1) overcame all symptoms and promoted growth and grain production”
Claim · model-written summary
Eightfold increased copper supply (Cu2) did not change vegetative or grain production in wheat.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume0
- Treatment
- Increasing copper supply eightfold (Cu2)e3
- Outcome
- vegetative or grain productione3
- Direction
- did not changee3
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“among organs of wheat plants”
e3“Increasing copper supply eightfold (Cu2) did not change vegetative or grain production”
Claim · model-written summary
Copper concentrations in stems, individual leaves and whole tops were highest when young and responded most strongly to copper supply.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume0
- Organ / stage
- stems, individual leaves, and whole topse4
- Treatment
- copper supplye4
- Outcome
- Copper concentrationse4
- Direction
- were higheste4
- Qualifier
- when they were younge4
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“among organs of wheat plants”
e4“Copper concentrations in stems, individual leaves, and whole tops were highest and responded most strongly to copper supply when they were young”
Claim · model-written summary
Leaves of Cu1 and Cu2 wheat lost copper rapidly as they aged.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume0
- Organ / stage
- leavese5
- Treatment
- Cu1 and Cu2e5
- Outcome
- coppere5
- Direction
- loste5
- Qualifier
- rapidlye5
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“among organs of wheat plants”
e5“As they aged, Cu1 and Cu2 leaves lost copper rapidly”
Claim · model-written summary
The first Cu0 leaves of wheat retained their copper and remained healthy for more than 7 weeks while younger leaves became severely deficient.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume0
- Organ / stage
- first Cu0 leavese6
- Outcome
- their coppere6
- Direction
- retainede6
- Qualifier
- for more than 7 weekse6
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“among organs of wheat plants”
e6“the first Cu0 leaves retained their copper and remained healthy for more than 7 weeks even though younger leaves developed severe copper deficiency”
Claim · model-written summary
In all treatments, loss of copper from the oldest wheat leaf paralleled senescence and the loss of nitrogen.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume0
- Organ / stage
- oldest leafe7
- Compound
- nitrogene7
- Outcome
- loss of copper from the oldest leafe7
- Direction
- parallelede7
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“among organs of wheat plants”
e7“In all treatments, loss of copper from the oldest leaf paralleled senescence and the loss of nitrogen”
Claim · model-written summary
Copper appears not to move out of wheat leaves until they lose organic nitrogen compounds.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume0
- Compound
- organic nitrogen compoundse1
- Outcome
- move out of plant leavese1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“among organs of wheat plants”
e1“It is suggested that copper does not move out of plant leaves until they lose organic nitrogen compounds”
Claim · model-written summary
In wheat under Cu2 supply, 67 per cent of the copper in vegetative organs of the primary shoot at flowering moved out during grain development.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume0
- Organ / stage
- vegetative organse1
- Treatment
- Cu2e1
- Outcome
- copper present in vegetative organse1
- Direction
- moved from theme1
- Value
- 67 per cente1
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“among organs of wheat plants”
e1“67 per cent of the copper present in vegetative organs of the Cu2 primary shoot at flowering moved from them during grain development”
Claim · model-written summary
The oldest leaf of severely deficient Cu0 wheat plants had a higher copper concentration than Cu1 and Cu2 plants.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume0
- Organ / stage
- oldest leafe1
- Treatment
- Cu0e1
- Outcome
- copper concentratione1
- Direction
- highere1
- Comparator
- Cu1 and Cu2e1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“among organs of wheat plants”
e1“the oldest leaf of severely deficient Cu0 plants in the present experiment having a higher copper concentration than that of copper adequate Cu1 and Cu2 plants”
Claim · model-written summary
Old wheat organs should not be included in samples for diagnosis of copper deficiency; only young organs should be used.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume0
- Outcome
- samples for diagnosis of copper deficiencye1
- Qualifier
- Only young organs should be usede2
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“among organs of wheat plants”
e1“Old organs should not be included in samples for diagnosis of copper deficiency”
e2“Only young organs should be used”
Claim · model-written summary
The copper concentration of young wheat leaves indicated copper status: a value of 1 μg g−1 in young leaves indicated copper deficiency.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume1
- Organ / stage
- young leavese1
- Outcome
- copper statuse1
- Value
- 1 μg g−1e1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“the copper concentration of young leaves gave a good indication of the copper status of wheat: a value of 1 μg g−1 in young leaves indicated copper deficiency”
The same questions in other papers
copper atom · yield · Triticum aestivum (wheat)Results differ
62 papers in the same direction as this paper · 12 in the opposite direction
- positive
- positive
- positive
71 papers more in this group
See all 75 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.