What about availability of iron-chelated fertilizers to farmers and their use in agricultural crops ?
Chelated iron fertilizers combine iron and a chelate, a chemical that keeps the iron in a soluble form for plants. Treating alkaline soils with iron fertilizers that are not chelated does not supply the plants with necessary iron. Chelates are man-made. Some chelated iron fertilizers only contain a small percentage of chelated iron. Read labels as you choose your fertilizers, and look for fertilizers that contain 100 percent chelated iron.F ind below some interesting PDFs on response of Fe-chelated fertlizers
In chelate form, iron is lass prone to precipitation in some chemical reactions and hence it is highly useful in agriculture. They also provide relative stability in application. Iron-chelated fertilizers like Fe-EDTA are available in India. Several private firms are manufacturing iron-chelated fertilizers and farmers in general .purchase from them. For example, Lohadrip (a micro granular chelate contains 6% Fe as Fe-EDDHA) is manufactured by Agri search India Pvt. Ltd and it is most suitable to calcareous soils.Similarly, Nutriline Fe-EDTA (13% Fe) is manufactured by Sumukha Farm products Pvt. Ltd., Hosur.
Chelated 5% Liquid Iron Fertilizer - Gallon is use to correct iron deficiency for a deep, rich green color. It is manufactured by Southern AG Inc. It can be use for flowers, shrubs,trees,vegetables and lawn.
Iron chelated fertilizers are specific to those upland and slopy areas where iron deficiency symptoms appear frequently.
Despite all these efforts , and with the large scale acceptability of chelated iron , question is , to what an extent these chelated fertilizers are available in the market for farmers use . The question is well placed by Dr Babu Meena..
Yes, Anoop Sir, I am agreeing with your comments. I am grateful to you for updating and providing information with papers.
Dr. Srivastava very good query. Chelated iron is hardly available in the market.
While chelated iron is a quick fix for foliar symptoms of iron deficiency it really does not get to the root of the issue which is the soil condition. There is no real issue deficiency but rather the alkalinity of the soil and carbonate content is the precipitating factor. Iron to foliage will not remediate the iron deficiency of the roots. To counteract lack of acidity for optimized soil nutrition which occurs at near neutral soil pH the effort should focus in the long term on identifying soil pH constraints and remedying these. In addition the immobility of iron is related to lack or organic chelation which is best provided by targeting improving the availability and content of soil organic constituents. While EDTA can chelate iron it does not have stimulative effect of fulivic/humic acids which stimulate the plant metabolism in ways above the provision of iron. Humic materials stimulate the mobility of iron, zinc, managanese and phosphorus and is known to work as growth regulation that increases both plant growth and also its defensive pathways.
Good observation and information by Dr. Hepperly. By and large, soil application of Fe is not effective in controlling Fe deficiency unless it is applied at very high rates while repeated spray of Fe on foliage in much lower quantity is quite effective in controlling Fe deficiency. Sulphate salts of Fe are commonly used sources for accretion of Fe. In our experience, foliar application of 0.5-1.0% FeSO4.7H2O solution is more effective and economical in correcting Fe deficiency.
I am attaching jpg photo of hydrangea which is living litmus. The area where you see the flowers turning pink reflect the the more alkaline soil and you can note the same areas with that flower color are showing classical iron deficiency or chlorosis. The areas with blue flower have the more acid reaction in the soil and iron chlorosis is not problematic. Indeed iron is usually not deficient in the soil at all it related instead to soil condition. The distribution of the colar can be used as a bioindicator of acid and alkaline soil condition underneath the plant as the root system mirrors the foliar development.
Dr.Hepperly ,Very interesting information.I agree fully with your fourth and the last sentences.
The absolute amount of iron needed is quite small. The driving of nails into fruit tree can remedy issues. Since many times the mobility of iron is the issue a product like fulvic acid can be quite effective when administered in high pH soil. The use of compost with sulfur to bring down pH would have potential and might be more available in many environments.
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