Monday, March 16, 2009
CHELATED NUTRIENTS FOR EFFICIENT PLANT UPTAKE
Clay and humus soils can tie up essential nutrient, making them unavailable to plants. High soil pH can also bind micro nutrients. Microscopic clay and humus particles have enormous electrostatic sites which act like magnets, binding nutrients to those sites. As a result, the plant goes hungry, even thought the soil is loaded with nutrients. This is particularly true of essential micro nutrients.
One way to remedy this is to provide plants with chelated nutrients. Chelates are molecules which wrap themselves around metal ions. EDTA is a commonly used in consumer products, prepared foods and salad dressing to sequester metal ions which catalyze decomposition reactions. Chelates are also used in medicine to treat lead poisoning and other metal poisoning.
In horticulture, chelated micronutrients are readily absorbed by plants, particularly if applied foliarly (to the leaves). That’s because the metal ions are shielded; and therefore do not bind to soil particles.
I find that glucoheptonate is more effective of a chelate than EDTA for plants. In my garden, I use Super Boost which consists of chelated micro nutrients, seaweed extract and fulvic acid. The recommended application rate is 2 quarts per acre for vegetable and turf, every couple of weeks. If you are growing a small garden, 1/8 of a fluid ounce mixed with one gallon of water and sprayed on to leaves is more than enough. When foliar spraying, be sure to do it early in the morning with cool temperatures. I am sure many gardening enthusiast will also confirm what nurserymen have told me: chelated micronutrients applied at bloom will increase and extend blooming of certain plants.
One way to remedy this is to provide plants with chelated nutrients. Chelates are molecules which wrap themselves around metal ions. EDTA is a commonly used in consumer products, prepared foods and salad dressing to sequester metal ions which catalyze decomposition reactions. Chelates are also used in medicine to treat lead poisoning and other metal poisoning.
In horticulture, chelated micronutrients are readily absorbed by plants, particularly if applied foliarly (to the leaves). That’s because the metal ions are shielded; and therefore do not bind to soil particles.
I find that glucoheptonate is more effective of a chelate than EDTA for plants. In my garden, I use Super Boost which consists of chelated micro nutrients, seaweed extract and fulvic acid. The recommended application rate is 2 quarts per acre for vegetable and turf, every couple of weeks. If you are growing a small garden, 1/8 of a fluid ounce mixed with one gallon of water and sprayed on to leaves is more than enough. When foliar spraying, be sure to do it early in the morning with cool temperatures. I am sure many gardening enthusiast will also confirm what nurserymen have told me: chelated micronutrients applied at bloom will increase and extend blooming of certain plants.
Labels: chelated nutrients, fertilizer, fulvic acid, humates, humic acid, seaweed extract, soil amendment
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