Nta (nitriloacetate) as a source of iron for corn in hydkoponic solution

Abstract

Corn (Zea mays L.) seedlings were grown for 25 days in 3700 ml solution culture with and without CaCO₃ in the solution to give pH differential and with 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 mg Fe/liter chelated with NTA (nitrilo‐acetate). All plants supplied with CaCO₃ were iron chlorotic and small. The 1 mg Fe/liter without CaCO₃ failed to produce healthy green plants but higher levels of Fe were satisfactory. It appears that FeNTA would be a satisfactory source of iron if pH were kept near 6 for com and other monocotyledous plants for which the stability of iron chelates of EDTA, DTPA, EDDHA are too high for them to be adequate sources of iron.