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Cobalt Content of Typical Soils and Plants of the Hawaiian Islands 1
Author(s) -
Fujimoto Giichi,
Sherman G. Donald
Publication year - 1950
Publication title -
agronomy journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.752
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1435-0645
pISSN - 0002-1962
DOI - 10.2134/agronj1950.00021962004200120001x
Subject(s) - soil water , cobalt , agronomy , environmental science , biology , soil science , chemistry , inorganic chemistry
HE discovery of the deficiency of cobalt as the T cause’of bush sickness, a nutritional disease of cattle and sheep in New Zealand and other parts of the world, and the curative property of this element if ingested daily in small quantities has created considerable interest in the role of this minor element in many fields of agricultural work. According to the two comprehensive reviews of the literature on cobalt nutrition of plants and animals (2, II), the minimum levels of cobalt content in forages for normal animal health have been established, but no worker has been able to establish the need of cobalt for the normal development and maturation of plants. Mitchell (S), reviewing the work on the cobalt content of dried plant materials, found the cobalt content to range from 0.01 to 0.40 parts per million. He indicated that a level of 0.09 parts per million of cobalt in grasses was essential to maintain the normal health of animals. Hurwitz and Beeson (5) have reported a range of cobalt content from 0.01 to 1.20 parts per million for fresh vegetables collected from various sections of the United States. Becker, et al. (1) found an average of 0.19 parts per million in soils taken from 13 healthy pastures, and 0.01 parts per million in 18 soil samples from deficient areas. Kidson (6) studying the cobalt status of New Zealand soils tound a range of 0.3 to 380 parts per million of cobalt of their Soil5 to be soluble in concentrated hydrochloric acid. In a later report Kidson (7) stated that the cobalt content of lateritic soils was very low even in the presence of large quantities of lateritic iron oxide. Several cattle diseases of the wasting type occur in the Hawaiian Islands. One of these diseases, known as “Molokai Disease,” has several symptoms which are similar to those reported for bush sickness. This disease occurs in an area receiving a low annual rainfall on the leeward side of the Island of Molokai. During the dry season, cattle subsist on the algaroba beans which fall to the practically barren ground. A review of the literature failed to reveal any information as to the cobalt content of Hawaiian soils and vegetation. Since wasting diseases of cattle similar to bush sickness occur in the Hawaiian Islands, a study