Alleviation of Soil Aluminum Phytotoxicity in a Typical Paddy Soil in Southern China by Using Weak Organic Acids

ABSTRACT

Weak organic acids including tartaric and citric acids were applied to a typical paddy soil in southern China to test their effects on rice in the field for three years. Their effects were also compared with top dressings of the two acids, basal application of diammonium acid phosphate, calcium carbonate, and the control. The results showed that rice grain yield of the citric acid treatment was significantly higher than that of the control and the same difference was also observed for the filled spikelets per panicle. There were no significant difference among all the treatments and the control on the accumulation of above ground dry matter. However the root dry matter, length, peroxidase activity, and white root number of citric acid treatment were significantly higher than that of the control, while no significant differences among other treatments were observed. Basal application of citric acid played a positive role on this soil.

Keywords:

• aluminum toxicity amelioration
• weak organic acid
• root development
• Oryza sativa

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are grateful for grants from Hunan Agricultural University Talent Introduction Program and the Hunan Provincial Super-High Yield Hybrid Rice Project (62020406120). We thank Professor Arthur P. Cracknell, Editor-in-Chief of International Journal of Remote Sensing, for checking the grammar and style of this manuscript word by word, anonymous reviewers for suggestions to this manuscript, Dr. Fengjin Xiao for providing the climate data near the experiment site, Sino-Australia Soil Test Laboratory, Kaifen, China, for soil sample analysis, Mr. Bryan McLeod from Pro-AG Consulting for the good suggestions about the experiment, Professor Anna Strunecka from Charles University in Prague for the guide of the FP6-2002-Food-1 proposal “European Fluoride and Aluminum Network of Excellence” and the inspiration of this research.