EFFECT OF FOLIAR SULPHUR FERTILIZATION ON THE PRODUCTIVITY OF THE PERMANENT AND ALTERNATE MEADOW PART II. THE CONTENT OF MICROELEMENTS

The experiment was established by means of random block sampling in four replicants on the brown acid soil of V quality class. The study was conducted in the years 2006-2008 on an individual farm in Pilica administrative district, in Zawiercie county, in the region of Krakow-Czestochowa Jura, at the altitude of above 320 m. Foliar sulphur fertilization of the sward of the permanent and alternate meadows was the determination factor. After the mineralization the hay samples were subjected to the analysis of Zn, Cu, Fe and Mn by ICP-AES method. The effect of sulphur fertilization on the level of selected elements in the plant samples collected from the permanent and alternate meadow was estimated. The weighted mean content of elements in plants derived from both meadows fluctuated in the range of: 22.81-224.86 mg Zn; 3.82-16.67 mg Cu; 60.90-190.35 mg Fe; 19.58-151.37 mg Mn center dot kg(-1) d.m. It was stated that applied fertilization had the most spectacular effect on the zinc content in both meadow types and on the iron content in the case of permanent meadow. In our investigations we observed that the herbs were the richest in microelements. The grasses were characterized with the lowest content of these elements with the exception of the manganese level higher in grasses from the fields non-fertilized with sulphur than in leguminous plants.