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Yield and Elemental Concentration of Sweet Corn Grown on Tannery Waste-Amended Soil¹

ABSTRACT

Tannery waste was applied to Willamette silt loam soil (fine-silty, mixed, mesic, Pachic Ultic Argixeroll) to determine possible elemental toxicities and N availability to ‘Jubilee’ sweet corn (Zea mays L.). Sweet corn yields; Cr, Cu, Mn, Zn, and N concentrations in soil and in leaves and kernels of sweet corn; and the organic matter content, electrical conductivity, and pH of soils were measured. Sweet corn yields increased with waste application in 1978 but not in 1979. Leaf N, Mn, and Zn and kernel Mn concentrations increased with waste application in both years. Leaf and kernel Cu and Cr concentrations did not increase significantly with waste application and no metal toxicity symptoms were observed in either year.

Total Cr and extractable Cu, Mn, and Zn concentrations of soils increased with waste application. Extractable Cu, Mn, and Zn concentrations declined 1 y after application, suggesting reduced metal availability with time. Metals applied with the waste did not move through the soil profile. Soil pH, electrical conductivity, organic matter content, total Kjeldahl N (TKN), and NH₄- and NO₃-N concentration increased with waste application. A significant increase in soil NO₃-N concentration at the 90-cm depth followed waste application. Tannery waste could provide significant N and lime for crops, but application at high rates may be limited by salt content, heavy metal accumulation, or potential movement of NO₃-N into groundwater.

Key Words: Zea mays Cr • Mn • Cu • Zn • N • soil pH • N availability and accumulation

¹ Oregon State Univ. Agric. Exp. Stn. Tech. Paper no. 6780. This project was supported by USEPA contract no. 68-03-3039.

² Former Graduate Research Assistant, Oregon Agric. Exp. Stn.; Associate Professor, North Willamette Agric. Exp. Stn., Aurora, OR 97002; and Professor, Dep. of Soil Sci., Oregon State Univ., Corvallis, OR 97331, respectively.

Received for publication February 3, 1983.