EVALUATION OF THE CAUSE FOR AN ACID-SOIL INFERTILITY FOR A DICOT PLANT SPECIES, Phaseolus vulgaris

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Abstract
Bush beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L. cv. Improved Tendergreen) plants were grown in a glasshouse for 24 d in an acid clay soil without lime amendment (pH 3.3), with lime mixed throughout the soil (pH 5.3), and with lime placed only in the center of the soil in the container. Yields were greatest in the soil with lime placed in the center of the soil and least in the unlimed soil. Leaf mineral composition was tabulated for 14 different elements with many significant differences. The only possible explanation for the yield results was Ca deficiency in the nonlimed soil, although Mn was slightly high. The multielement analysis and the experimental design made it possible to eliminate excess trace elements as the cause of the acid soil infertility. This differed from results for a monocot species where trace element excesses were implicated as a cause of the infertility.