The available Cu extracted by DTPA, EDTA, 0.1NHC1 and 0.05NHC1 was determined in 51 diverse soil types under dry and flooded conditions. The latter two solutions did not extract Cu from dry soils having high pH or high organic carbon content. Under flooded soil conditions, the number of soils giving extractable Cu by DTPA, EDTA and 0.1NHC1 decreased, while 0.05NHC1 did not extract Cu from any of the flooded soils. DTPA and 0.05NHC1 extractable Cu from dry soil gave good correlation with plant Cu content of 2 rice cv. Since these two reagents are now commonly used for determining available Cu in soils for growing rice, the pH and organic C content of soils may be taken into consideration while choosing between the two.