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Comparison of Modified Montmorillonite to Salts and Chelates as Carrier for Micronutrients for Plants: II. Supply of Iron 1
Author(s) -
Navrot Jerzy,
Banin Amos
Publication year - 1976
Publication title -
agronomy journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.752
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1435-0645
pISSN - 0002-1962
DOI - 10.2134/agronj1976.00021962006800020039x
Subject(s) - montmorillonite , chelation , chemistry , calcareous , phaseolus , soil water , micronutrient , calcareous soils , salt (chemistry) , nuclear chemistry , inorganic chemistry , agronomy , botany , geology , organic chemistry , soil science , biology
Symptoms of iron deficiency appear very frequently in the calcareous soils which represent a major part of the agricultural soils of Israel; therefore a search for novel carriers of iron is constantly conducted. Previous studies showed that Cu, Zn, and Mn, attached to modified montmorillonite, can effectively replace salts and chelates as carriers for micronutrient elements for plants. In this research, the effect of iron attached to montmorillonite clay on element uptake and yield of plants was compared to that of commonly used iron sulphate or EDTA and EDDHA chelates. In the greenhouse, beans ( Phaseolus vulgaris L.) were grown in two calcareous, (Rendzina), iron deficient soils and were treated with either FeSO 4 , Fe +3 ‐EDTA, Fe +3 ‐EDDHA, or Fe +2 bound to montmorillonite clay. The rates of iron added varied from 15 to 60 mg Fe/kg soil for the salt and 3 to 12 mg Fe/kg soil for the chelates and the clay forms. It was found that Fe +3 ‐clay and Fe +3 in chelates, added at equivalent rates, supplied iron in comparable amounts; FeSO 4 , added at the conventional rates which are five to ten times higher than that added as clay‐ and chelate‐bound iron, caused similar or lower uptake and yields. Moreover, the slow release of iron from Fe‐clay, even when supplied in high rates, prevented excessive iron uptake which otherwise, as in the case of the chelate FeEDDHA, interfered with plant development. It is suggested that iron attached to mortmorillonite clay can be used as an efficient source of iron for plants grown in calcareous soils.