A new line of high quality iron chelates optimizing crop iron nutrition
Ferrogat Plus Plus is an innovative, highly concentrated, liquid chelate developed for the iron nutrition of agricultural crops. A ready to use preparation.
Ferrogat plus – properties
Ferrogat plus is a solution containing 2% chelated iron.
Ferrogat Plus – Chemical composition
Ferrogat Plus contains 2% chelated iron, a mixture of three different sources:
33% of total iron as Fe-EDDHMA.
33.3% of total iron as Fe-DTPA
33.3% of total iron as Fe-EDTA
Volume weight: 1.17 gr/cm3
.pH = 8.0
Colour: Red
Fe-EDDHMA and Fe-DTPA are the most stable iron chelates for application on basic soils, (those with a pH above 7). Ferrogat Plus is a ready to use liquid preparation. No solids have to be dissolved nor is diluting required as with other commercial preparations. Due to its high concentration, the application of Ferrogat Plus is highly efficient and only a small volume of Ferrogat Plus is required to satisfy the nutritional requirements of the crop. All iron in Ferrogat Plus is immediately available to the crop.
Important !!
Don’t mix Ferrogat Plus with other agro-chemicals prior to consultion with Gat Fertilizer personnel.
Packaging
Ferrogat Plus is available in 10 Lt cans, in jumbo containers of up to 1,000 Lt and in bulk.
Ferrogat plus – Advantages
Highly efficient over a wide range of soils. Being a mixture of three different iron chelates Ferrogat Plus is efficient in soils of all types.
Maximum ease of application – With its high concentration of iron (2%) Ferrogat Plus is easy to transport and apply. A 10 Lt can contains the equivalent of 4 Kg of 6% iron in powdered chelate. Optimal as an additive to fertilizer solutions in bulk.
Proved efficiency in many field trials.
Field Trials with Ferrogat and Ferrogat plus
Gat Fertilizers Ltd. has developed Ferrogat and Ferrogat plus in order to provide available iron for the nutrition of agricultural crops. During the three years of development of the product, the company conducted an extensive number of trials, which proved the advantages and efficiency of the product.
Observations on the use of Ferrogat and Ferrogat plus were made for the following crops:
Cherry, Peach, Avocado, Mango, Chrysantemum, Peanuts, Beans, and others.
Guidelines for using Ferrogat and Ferrogat plus
The importance of iron in plant nutrition
Among micro- elements, iron is the one plants require in the largest amount (more than zinc, manganese, copper, molybdenum, boron). Crops cannot develop properly without a constant supply of readily available iron in the soil. Iron serves as catalyst for several biological processes:
Iron fulfills a primary role in respiration by the plant’s tissues.
Iron deficiency causes reduction in respiration and growth.
Iron is essential for the synthesis of the chlorophyll molecule.
Iron deficiency manifests itself in visual symptoms as yellowing (chlorosis) of the leaves due to a low concentration of chlorophyll.
The symptoms appear initially in the youngest leaves. Chlorosis develops in the area between the leaf’s veins (interveinal chlorosis). With severe deficiency, the leaves become completely yellow and dry out. The plants’ development is severely impaired. Extreme iron deficiency – may cause complete crop failure.
Causes of iron deficiency in plants
Even if most soils contain large reserves of iron (up to 3% of the soil’s dry weight), which should suffice to ensure a continuous supply of iron to all crops, most of this iron is trapped in compounds of very low solubility which are unavailable to plants. Therefore, the amount of plant available iron in the soil solution is very small. The solubility of iron compounds increases as the soil becomes more acidic (low pH), and decreases as the pH of the soil rises, due to a high lime or sodium content. There- fore the concentration of plant available iron in the soil solution is very low in soils with a high pH.
Another factor significantly affecting iron deficiency is the extent of soil aeration. All physical processes that cause poor soil aeration also lead to iron deficiency:
Heavy and compacted soils.
Poorly drained soils.
Excessive, uncontrolled irrigation creating waterlogged soils.
Iron absorption by the roots
Iron is absorbed by the roots by diffusion, i.e. – iron moves from locations where its concentration in the soil solution is high to locations with low concentration, (in proximity to the roots where the plant has retrieved the iron from the soil solution). The transfer of iron into the root is an active process requiring energy. Lack of soil aeration and poor respiration by the roots brings about iron deficiency.
What are iron chelates
Iron chelate are organo-metallic compounds containing ionized iron (Fe+² or Fe+³), bound to an organic molecule. Usually, the chelate is a water soluble anion. The iron in the chelate remains “trapped” in the organic molecule by strong and stable chemical bonds within a wide range of pH values. An example of an iron chelate is FeEDDHMA (the main component of Ferrogat).
The relevance of iron chelates results from the fact that in soils with a pH above 7, any inorganic iron (such as FeSO4 or FeCl2) added to the soil, reacts immediately to form a low solubility compound of iron (such as oxides, phosphates, carbonates).
The chelate, on the other hand, being a stable molecule, does not release ionized iron into the soil solution, thus preventing the fixation of iron.