Trace elements are essential nutrient and their relative deficiency or excess can potentially influence optimum development to a considerable extent.
• There are always trace elements in the soil but the supplies may be inadequate for an agricultural produce
• There may be an imbalance of nutrients where one nutrient has antagonistic effect upon the other
• The essential elements may not be available for a number of reasons (e.g. high pH calcareous soils.)
Whatever the cause, disturbances in trace element nutrition results in great economic loss in many parts of Australia by preventing proper stock and crop development.
Hidden Trace Element Deficiencies
The widespread trace element deficiencies are not generally recognised even by many investigators, because too much stress has been placed on visual, clinical symptoms, such as chlorosis of leaves or abnormal growth.
These symptoms are of the greatest value in indicating the presence of nutritional deficiencies, but it must be appreciated that not all deficient plants show them. Deficiencies not acute enough to show visual signs may be severe enough to halve the potential yield.
Difficulties in Correcting Trace Element Deficiencies
(Disadvantage of using inorganic salts)
The addition of water soluble sulphate salts of copper, zinc, manganese, cobalt and iron to correct trace element deficiencies in the soil is very inefficient and sometimes dangerous, as certain soil factors tend to have the same general effect on the availability of all of them.
These are:
• High rate of leaching of the sulphate salts from the soil (especially sandy soils)
• All tend to become less available to plants as the soil pH is raised (liming)
• High pH value favours the oxidation of iron, manganese and copper and they become less soluble
• The application of large quantities of phosphate fertilisers adversely affects the supply of trace elements. The uptake of both iron and zinc is reduced in the presence of excess phosphate
• On soils high in organic matter, copper appears to be bound tightly by the organic matter
• Cobalt, zinc, manganese and iron in water soluble form, are fixed by certain silicate clays, especially of the 2 to 1 type.
Chelated Micronutrients
Why Chelated Micronutrients?
Recent aractices in fertilization call for heavy applications of nitrogen, phosphorous and potash, and the resultant high yield of crops has caused deficiencies of naturally available trace minerals to appear in many areas.
Soil analysis is sometimes unable to determine where deficiencies exist, for the trace elements are locked up and not available to the plant. Also the complex arrays of elemental antagonistic and synergystic effects reduce the individual nutrient availabilities. Plant analyses or symptomatic diagnosis are used to determine the necessary corrective measures.
Application of inorganic trace element salts to the soil does not assure uptake by the plant because such salts often react in the soil therefore the element becomes unavailable to the plant.
Lignosulphonate Chelation
Agmin’s Early Research Into Lignosulphonate Chelation
The early lignosulphonate chelated micronutrients were inefficient for foliar absorption and inside-plant-translocation and thus, quickly fell into disrepute.
Fundamental research into the mechanism of foliar absorption of metallic chelates by Agmin Chelates Pty Ltd indicated that lignosulphonates could be selectively enhanced for particular applications. Molecular weight, ionic charges and many other properties can be modified and adjusted to optimise performance for foliar nutrition.
It has been established that the solubility, absorption, electrolytic, cohesive and film-forming characteristics of lignosulphonate, as well as absorption through the cuticles of the epidermal cells and guard cells and the diffusion of the micronutrients, as far as the plasmalemma, depend upon the size, the type and quantity of the functional groups including sulphonic, hydroxyl, methoxyl, carboxyl, and their purity and uniformity.
An elementary introduction of the source, structure, function and application, storage, handling and safety is given in this brief outline.
The Agmin natural organic chelates
These are extracted from natural materials and modified for a uniform chelating power for all the micronutrients. Agmin Chelates Pty Ltd produces the first Australian manufactured product of this kind.
As a Foliar Spray:
• Easily absorbed by plants.
• Translocated readily within the plants.
• Easily decomposed within the plant so that the trace element becomes available.
• Not detrimental to plants at concentrations necessary to control deficiencies.
As a Soil Application:
• Having high stability not easily replaced by other nutrient elements in the soil.
• Each of the metals chelated are very stable against hydrolysis.
• Trace elements chelated are resistant to microbiological decomposition.
• The chelated micronutrients are soluble in water.
• Not easily precipitated by ions or colloids in soils.
• Metal chelates are available to plants either at root surfaces or within the plant.
• Chelated micronutrients are not detrimental to plant at concentrations required to prevent deficiencies.
(The extracted plant material is sulphonated propylene phenolic acid with a large number of methoxyl group producing metal chelates with varying ionic charges, sufficiently strong to prevent the tie up of expensive nutrient metals in soil, but still releasing them in the plant for enzymatic processes).
• There may be an imbalance of nutrients where one nutrient has antagonistic effect upon the other
• The essential elements may not be available for a number of reasons (e.g. high pH calcareous soils.)
Whatever the cause, disturbances in trace element nutrition results in great economic loss in many parts of Australia by preventing proper stock and crop development.
Hidden Trace Element Deficiencies
The widespread trace element deficiencies are not generally recognised even by many investigators, because too much stress has been placed on visual, clinical symptoms, such as chlorosis of leaves or abnormal growth.
These symptoms are of the greatest value in indicating the presence of nutritional deficiencies, but it must be appreciated that not all deficient plants show them. Deficiencies not acute enough to show visual signs may be severe enough to halve the potential yield.
Difficulties in Correcting Trace Element Deficiencies
(Disadvantage of using inorganic salts)
The addition of water soluble sulphate salts of copper, zinc, manganese, cobalt and iron to correct trace element deficiencies in the soil is very inefficient and sometimes dangerous, as certain soil factors tend to have the same general effect on the availability of all of them.
These are:
• High rate of leaching of the sulphate salts from the soil (especially sandy soils)
• All tend to become less available to plants as the soil pH is raised (liming)
• High pH value favours the oxidation of iron, manganese and copper and they become less soluble
• The application of large quantities of phosphate fertilisers adversely affects the supply of trace elements. The uptake of both iron and zinc is reduced in the presence of excess phosphate
• On soils high in organic matter, copper appears to be bound tightly by the organic matter
• Cobalt, zinc, manganese and iron in water soluble form, are fixed by certain silicate clays, especially of the 2 to 1 type.
Chelated Micronutrients
Why Chelated Micronutrients?
Recent aractices in fertilization call for heavy applications of nitrogen, phosphorous and potash, and the resultant high yield of crops has caused deficiencies of naturally available trace minerals to appear in many areas.
Soil analysis is sometimes unable to determine where deficiencies exist, for the trace elements are locked up and not available to the plant. Also the complex arrays of elemental antagonistic and synergystic effects reduce the individual nutrient availabilities. Plant analyses or symptomatic diagnosis are used to determine the necessary corrective measures.
Application of inorganic trace element salts to the soil does not assure uptake by the plant because such salts often react in the soil therefore the element becomes unavailable to the plant.
Lignosulphonate Chelation
Agmin’s Early Research Into Lignosulphonate Chelation
The early lignosulphonate chelated micronutrients were inefficient for foliar absorption and inside-plant-translocation and thus, quickly fell into disrepute.
Fundamental research into the mechanism of foliar absorption of metallic chelates by Agmin Chelates Pty Ltd indicated that lignosulphonates could be selectively enhanced for particular applications. Molecular weight, ionic charges and many other properties can be modified and adjusted to optimise performance for foliar nutrition.
It has been established that the solubility, absorption, electrolytic, cohesive and film-forming characteristics of lignosulphonate, as well as absorption through the cuticles of the epidermal cells and guard cells and the diffusion of the micronutrients, as far as the plasmalemma, depend upon the size, the type and quantity of the functional groups including sulphonic, hydroxyl, methoxyl, carboxyl, and their purity and uniformity.
An elementary introduction of the source, structure, function and application, storage, handling and safety is given in this brief outline.
The Agmin natural organic chelates
These are extracted from natural materials and modified for a uniform chelating power for all the micronutrients. Agmin Chelates Pty Ltd produces the first Australian manufactured product of this kind.
As a Foliar Spray:
• Easily absorbed by plants.
• Translocated readily within the plants.
• Easily decomposed within the plant so that the trace element becomes available.
• Not detrimental to plants at concentrations necessary to control deficiencies.
As a Soil Application:
• Having high stability not easily replaced by other nutrient elements in the soil.
• Each of the metals chelated are very stable against hydrolysis.
• Trace elements chelated are resistant to microbiological decomposition.
• The chelated micronutrients are soluble in water.
• Not easily precipitated by ions or colloids in soils.
• Metal chelates are available to plants either at root surfaces or within the plant.
• Chelated micronutrients are not detrimental to plant at concentrations required to prevent deficiencies.
(The extracted plant material is sulphonated propylene phenolic acid with a large number of methoxyl group producing metal chelates with varying ionic charges, sufficiently strong to prevent the tie up of expensive nutrient metals in soil, but still releasing them in the plant for enzymatic processes).