Page 22 - Curriculum Visions Dynamic Book

Copper in the environment
Both plants and animals need a certain amount of copper as part of their diets. In animals, copper is used in the body to help release energy and is usually found in protein. It is required as a micronutrient, that is, it is vital but is only needed in very small amounts. Too little or too much can be dangerous. Copper
is a natural part of most soils and is used by plants too as a micronutrient
to aid growth.
 Copper-based fungicide is commonly sprayed on fruit trees.
 Where the copper content of a soil
is low, plants can suffer from poor growth and become much more prone to disease. The different rates of growth from different amounts of copper can be seen in this picture. The wheat on the left has an adequate amount of copper; the one on the right is copper-deficient.
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