NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT
FS-6790-B—(REVISED 2017)
Copper for Crop Production
Apurba K Sutradhar: Research Associate
Daniel E Kaiser, Carl J Rosen, and John A Lamb: Extension Specialists in Nutrient Management
Copper (Cu) is one of eight essential plant
micronutrients. Copper is required for many
enzymatic activities in plants and for
chlorophyll and seed production. Deficiency
of copper can lead to increased plant
susceptibility to disease, one example being
ergot which can cause significant yield loss in
small grains. Most Minnesota soils supply
adequate amount of copper for crop
production. However, copper deficiency can
occur in high organic matter and sandy soils.
Copper deficiency is more likely to occur in
cereal grains in Minnesota when grown on
copper deficient soils. Wheat is the most
sensitive to copper deficiency. Barley and oat
are less sensitive to copper deficiency. Some
vegetable crops such as onions, lettuce, and
carrots are sensitive to copper deficiency.
COPPER DEFICIENCY
The amount of copper available to plants
varies widely among soils. Copper in the soil
is held with clay minerals as a cation (Cu2+)
and in association with organic matter. Some
silicate minerals and carbonate contain
copper as impurities. Research at the
University of Minnesota as well as other
universities has identified soil conditions
where a response to copper fertilizers is
expected. These conditions are:
ORGANIC MATTER: Copper is not mobile in
organic soils as it is attracted to soil organic
matter and clay minerals. Copper deficiencies
often occur in soils with peaty soils with
greater concentrations of organic matter.
Copper binds with organic matter more
tightly than any other of the crop
micronutrients. Crops sensitive to copper
deficiency grown on peat soils with organic
matter content more than 8% are likely to
show copper deficiency symptoms.
SOIL TEXTURE: Fine-textured mineral soils
generally contain higher amount of available
copper compared to sandy-textured and
organic or peat soils since fine-textured soils
can hold more exchangeable copper. Sandy-
textured soils are more likely to be copper
deficient than loams and clays since parent
materials forming sandy-textured soils
contain low copper concentrations. Moreover,
copper can be leached from sandy soils with
low organic matter concentration.
SOIL pH: Soils that contain greater amounts
of oxides and carbonates tend to have low
available copper. As soil pH increases, the
availability of copper decreases. Increasing
the soil pH by liming increases the amount of
copper held or adsorbed by clay and organic
matter, thereby decreasing Cu availability. If
crops sensitive to copper deficiency are
grown on soils with a pH of7.5 or greater,
occasionally check for copper deficiency
using soil and plant tissue analysis.
CROPS THAT RESPOND COPPER crop. The leaf tips die back and the tips are
twisted. Typical deficiency symptoms for
FERTILIZATION wheat are shown in Figure 1 and 2. If copper
Crops species and cultivars vary considerably deficiency is severe, growth of small grains
in their response to fertilizer-copper. Table 1 ceases and plants die after reaching the
lists some agronomic and horticultural crops Feekes 3.0 growth stage (tiller formation).
that respond to fertilizer-copper. Wheat will not produce grain in the head. In
mature stands, copper deficiency can be
Table 1. Some agronomic and horticultural crops
visible by characteristic purplish brown
grown in Minnesota and their sensitivity to copper
patches, which are signs of melanosis.
fertilization.
RESPONSE TO COPPER
LARGE MODERATE SMALL
Alfalfa, barley, Apple, blueberry, Canola, dry
carrot, citrus, broccoli, bean, grape,
lettuce, oat, cabbage, grasses for hay,
sugarbeet, wheat, cauliflower, corn, potato, rapeseed,
onion, spinach cucumber, peas, rye, soybean
radish,
strawberry,
tomato

COPPER DEFICIENCY SYMPTOMS

Copper deficiency symptoms vary by crops.
Figure 2. Healthy to severely copper deficient wheat
Copper is relatively immobile in plants and heads, showing signs of melanosis. Photo credit IPNI.
deficiency symptoms first appear in younger
plant tissues.

Figure 3. Copper deficiency in corn. Photo credit:

Figure 1. A wheat plant deficient in copper is shown Michigan State University.
here. The leaf tips die back and they are twisted refer to
as “pig tailing”. Photo credit IPNI.
In corn, deficiency first appears on new
leaves as they come out of the whorl and
In Minnesota, evidence of copper deficiency
has appeared when small grains are grown develop a bluish green tint (Figure 3). New
leaves may emerge from the whorl as
on organic soils. Copper deficiency
spiraled. Necrosis may occur on older leaf-
symptoms are characterized by a general
tips and edges and may die.
light green to yellow color in the small grain
In vegetable crops, young leaves may turn
bluish-green before turning yellow. Figure 4
shows a lettuce plant affected with severe
copper decency. The upper portion of the
plant wilts; the growing point is stunted and
eventually dies. The plants often fail to
flower.
Figure 4. The plant on the right is showing copper
deficiency in lettuce compared to a non-deficient plant
on the right. Photo credit: IPNI.
DIAGNOSING COPPER DEFICIENCY
Soil and plant tissue tests are recommended
to determine copper deficiency in soils. Soil
tests may be correlated to plant response for
specific soil types.
SOIL TESTING
Soil tests for copper on organic soils are the
best predictor of the need for copper in a
Table 2. Soil test interpretation and recommendations for copper to be used for small grains production on
organic (peat) soils in Minnesota.
METHOD OF APPLICATION
SOIL TEST COPPER BROADCAST
(ppm)† COPPER COPPER SULFATE
lb. Cu/ac.
0-2.5 (low) 6-12 24-48
2.6−5.0 (marginal) 6 24
> 5.0 (adequate) 0 0
†Copper is extracted by the DTPA procedure.
fertilizer program. In Minnesota, copper
status of soils can be easily measured by
routine soils tests. The DTPA extraction
method is used by majority of soil testing
laboratories and is the most reliable and
accurate for measuring copper in soil. When
a soil test indicates the need for copper,
small amounts of copper fertilizers can be
used in a fertilizer program to provide for
optimum yield. Soil test interpretations and
fertilizer suggestions to apply copper
fertilizer for small grains and vegetable crops
grown in organic soils in Minnesota are
summarized in Table 2. The suggested
interpretation classes of the DTPA copper
soil test are only applicable for organic soils
and should not be used for mineral soils.
PLANT TISSUE TESTING
A deficiency of copper can be confirmed
using plant tissue analysis. Plant tissue
analysis should be used in conjunction with
soil tests before arriving at recommendation
for using copper in a fertilizer program.
Interpretations for various concentrations of
copper in plant tissue of several agronomic
and horticultural crops are summarized in
Table 3. Tissue copper concentration varies
between growth stages. It is important that
crops be sampled at the growth stage listed if
interpretation of plant analysis is to be
accurate.
FOLIAR SPRAY
COPPER COPPER SULFATE
lb./ac. lb. Cu/ac. lb./ac.
0.3 1.2
0.3 1.2
0 0
Table 3. Sufficiency levels ofcopper for major agronomic crops, vegetables, and fruits grown in Minnesota.
CROP PLANT PART TIME SUFFICIENCY RANGE
--ppm Cu--
Alfalfa Tops (6′′ new growth) Prior to flowering 7-30
Apple Leaf from middle of current terminal shoot July 15-August 15 6-25
Blueberry Young mature leaf First week of harvest 4-10
Broccoli Young mature leaf Heading 4-15
Cabbage Half-grown young wrapper leaf Heads 5-15
Carrot Young mature leaf Mid-growth 5-15
Cauliflower Young mature leaf Buttoning 4-15
Edible bean Most recently matured trifoliate Bloom stage 5-30
Field Corn Whole tops Less than 12′′ tall 5-20
Base of ear Initial silk 6-25
Grape Petiole from young mature leaf Flowering 5-20
Pea Recently mature leaflet First bloom 6-25
Potato Fourth leaf from tip 40-50 days after emergence 5-20
Petiole from fourth leaf to tip 40-50 days after emergence 4-20
Raspberry Leaf 18 inch from tip First week in August 15-60
Soybean Trifoliate leaves Early flowering 21-80
Spring wheat Whole tops As head emerges from boot 15-70
Strawberry Young mature leaf Mid-August 20-50
Sweet corn Ear leaf Tasseling to silk 20-100
Sugar beet Recently matured leaves 50-80 days after planting 10-80
Source: Bryson et al. (2014), Plant Analysis Handbook III; Rosen and Eliason (1996), Nutrient Management for Commercial
Fruit and Vegetable Crops in Minnesota.

Table 4. Summary of grain yield of hard red spring wheat as affected by broadcast application of copper
fertilizers.
COPPER COPPER EAST POLK, MARSHALL, NORMAN, EAST POLK, NORMAN, WEST POLK,
SOURCE RATE 2000 2000 2000 2001 2001 2001
lb./ac. -----------------------------------------bushels/ac.-----------------------------------------
None -- 66.2 47.3 50.4 b† 57.7 45.2 59.5
Copper Sulfate 6 65.7 50.0 55.6 a 57.0 43.0 58.3
Copper Sulfate 12 61.9 47.8 54.9 a 55.5 47.7 59.6
Copper Chelate 6 64.5 47.6 57.4 a 58.4 47.9 58.7
Copper Chelate 12 67.8 51.0 57.1 a 55.9 47.6 60.7
† Means in a same column followed by different lower case letters are significantly different at the P > 0.05 levels of probability.

CROP RESPONSE TO COPPER IN mineral soils, additions of copper to a

fertilizer program are not suggested for
MINNESOTA small grain production on mineral soils in
Trials with hard red spring wheat grown on Minnesota.
mineral soils have been conducted in Corn response to copper has not been
northwestern Minnesota. The yield from documented in Minnesota (Table. 5). Corn is
those trials are summarize in Table 4. The only moderately sensitive to copper
majority of the sites selected for this study in deficiency. A response to copper may occur
2000 and in 2001 were sandy with an organic when corn is grown on organic or peat soils.
matter concentration of 2.0% or less. Copper Application of copper under these
fertilization produced an increase in yield of circumstances should be conducted on a trial
hard red spring wheat only at one site basis to determine if copper fertilizer
(Norman County 2000). Because of the rarity application is economical.
of a response to copper fertilization on
Table 5. Summary of corn grain yield (15.5% moisture content) for plots with (+Cu) and without (-Cu) copper
fertilization.
SOIL TEST CORN GRAIN YIELD
SITE Cu ORGANIC MATTER PH -Cu +Cu
ppm % bu/A
Oklee, 2011 0.2 18.7 6.3 110 113
Rochester, 2011 1.2 6.1 6.1 241 234
Staples, 2011 0.7 7.1 7.1 197 196
Westport, 2011 0.6 6.5 6.5 194 195
Gaylord, 2012 1.7 6.3 6.4 185 191
Montgomery, 2012 2.0 3.1 7.4 195 189
Rochester, 2012 2.0 2.2 5.7 158 154
Rochester, 2013 0.97 2.1 5.8 177 179
Note: Treatments are not significantly different at P < 0.05 probability levels.

Table 6: Some common Copper fertilizer sources and quantity needed to supply 1 lb Cu/acre.
APPROXIMATE QUANTITY NEEDED TO
MATERIAL† FORMULA
Cu (%) SUPPLY 1 lb Cu/ACRE
Copper chelate Na2Cu EDTA 13 7.7
Cupric ammonium phosphate Cu(NH4)PO4 H2O 32 3.1
Cupric chloride CuCl2 17 5.9
Cupric oxide CuO 75 1.3
Copper sulfate (monohydrate) CuSO4•H2O 35 2.9
Copper sulfate (pentahydrate) CuSO4•5H2O 25 4.0
Cupric oxide CuO 75 1.3
Cuprous oxide Cu2O 89 1.1

Copper deficiency is rare in soybean. Soybean fertilizer is water soluble and the particle
response to copper has not been verified in size of the fertilizer is small. A single
Minnesota. Vegetable crops such as onion or application of copper can last for many
carrots are more likely to respond to copper years.
fertilizer on some soils. However, trials have
Foliar application of copper can also be an
not been conducted in Minnesota to
effective way to correct copper deficiency in
determine the potential for a response to
small grains and vegetable crops. The growth
copper for onion or carrot.
stage and application time has a major
FERTILIZER MANAGEMENT influence on the effectiveness of the
treatment. Results from research in
Copper sulfate is the preferred source of northwestern Minnesota indicated that
copper fertilizer because of low cost applications at the Feekes 3 (tillering) growth
compared to chelated sources. Some stage are most effective in correcting
commonly used copper fertilizers are listed deficiencies. Two applications [one
in Table 6. application at Feekes 3 and the other one at
Feekes 10 (booting stage)] of foliar copper
Soil application of copper before seeding is
fertilizer may be required if deficiencies are
most common. Copper fertilizer can be
severe. For vegetable crops, leaf burn has
broadcast or banded with nitrogen,
been observed if foliar applications exceed
phosphorus, and potassium fertilizers.
0.15 lb Cu/A. Two or three foliar
Copper use efficiency is improved if the
applications at weekly intervals are usually
 necessary to correct copper deficiency in  Copper can be broadcast or incorporated
vegetable crops. before planting and can also be applied as
mixtures with other fertilizers. One or
COPPER TOXICITY two foliar applications are suggested
depending on the severity of deficiency
There is a narrow range between copper
between Feekes 3 and Feekes 10 stage of
deficiency and toxicity. Proper care should be
spring wheat grown in Minnesota.
taken during application of copper fertilizer.
Repeated application of copper fertilizer,
swine and dairy manure, and sewage sludge
can develop copper toxicity. Copper toxicity For more information:
can persist for an extended period of time www.extension.umn.edu/agriculture/nutrient-
and is difficult to correct because the low management/
solubility of Cu in water. Toxic concentration
of copper in soil affects seed germination,
root system development, and plant vigor.
Fields that routinely receive fertilizers
containing copper and manure require
regular monitoring for copper toxicity.

SUMMARY
 Fertilizing with copper is an important
consideration when growing small grains
on organic (peat) soils in Minnesota. The
recommendations listed in Table 2 are for
organic (peat) soils only. Yield response
to copper when crops are grown on
mineral soils (sandy loam, loam, clay
loam, etc.) in Minnesota has not been
measured, so copper is not recommended
for mineral soils.

 The soil tests for copper on organic soils

and plant tissue tests are reliable
determining copper deficiencies and the
need for fertilizing with copper.

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