Comparison of sulphur uptake by oilseed rape and the soil sulphur status of two adjacent fields with different soil series

At Woburn Experimental Farm (SE central England) sulphur (S) deficiency symptoms occurred in a winter oilseed rape crop grown in Lansome field on soil of the Cottenham series, but not on the Blithe series soil in the adjacent Mill Dam Close field. At maturity, the two crops produced a similar amount of dry matter but seed yield and harvest index were significantly less in Lansome. Total S uptake of the crop in Lansome was less than half of that in Mill Dam Close, which was similar to the amount normally found in a S sufficient crop. Both soils are of light texture (loamy sand and sandy clay loam for the Cottenham and Blithe series, respectively), and there was little difference in the extractable S concentration in the topsoils between the two fields. However, more extractable S was found in the subsoil of Blithe series, because it contains more free Fe and Al oxides and has a lower pH. These results show that any evaluation of the soil S supply needs to take into account the pool of available S in the subsoil.