Determination of calcium, magnesium, zinc and manganese in plant tissue using a dilute HCl extraction method<sup>1</sup>
Abstract
Abstract A non digestion method described earlier for K determination was tested for its ability to extract several other elements in plant tissues of sorghum, pearl millet, chickpea, and pigeonpea. The method involves shaking 0.5 g finely ground (<0.4 mm) plant sample with 40 ml of 0.5 N HCl for 5 minutes at room temperature (25°C) followed by measurement of element concentrations in the filtrate. The values of Ca, Mg, Zn, and Mn obtained by this method were in good agreement with those obtained using the triacid digestion technique. However, this was not the case for P, Fe and Cu. The precision obtained in determining Ca, Mg, Zn and Mn by the HCl extraction method was generally comparable to that obtained by the triacid digestion method. These results suggest that the HCl extraction method can be used for routine and rapid analysis of plant tissues for Ca, Mg, Zn and Mn contents as well as for K content.