Determination of inorganic sulfate in foliage with barium chloranilate

Foliage samples were extracted in 0. 01M HCl at room temperature and extracts analyzed indirectly for sulfate (SO**2//4** minus ) with a barium chloranilate procedure. The method was tested with foliage of coniferous and deciduous tree species, and sulfate recovery was comparable to that obtained by hydriodic acid reduction. Similar amounts of sulfate were recover from foliage by both acid and salt extractions, and it was concluded that foliar sulfate in the species tested was inorganic and did not include appreciable amounts of hydrolyzable organic sulfates. The barium chloranilate procedure requires equipment available to most soil and plant analysis laboratories and can be readily applied in evaluating sulfur nutrition in plant-soil systems.

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Author Daniel D. Richter Earth and Climate Sciences