Iron chlorosis is a wide-spread limiting factor of production in agriculture. To cope with this problem, synthetic chelates (like EDTA or EDDHA) of Fe are used in foliar-spray or in soil treatments; however, these products are very expensive. Therefore paper-production byproducts, like Lignosulfonates (LS), with varying content of carboxylate and sulfonate groups, were tested with respect to their ability to maintain Fe in the solution of soils and to feed plants grown in hydroponics with Fe through foliar sprays or application to the nutrient solution. Results show that LS had a low capability to solubilize Fe-59-hydroxide and that preformed Fe-59(III)-LS complexes had poor mobility through a soil column (pH 7.5) and scarce stability when interacting with soils compared to Fe-59(III)-EDDHA. However when Fe-59(III)-LS were supplied to roots in a hydroponic system, they demonstrated an even higher capability to fed Fe-deficient tomato plants than Fe-59(III)-EDDHA. Hence, data here presented indicate that the low Fe use efficiency from Fe-LS observed in soil-applications is due to interactions of these Fe-sources with soil colloids rather than to the low capability of roots to use them. Foliar application experiments of Fe-59(III)-LS or Fe-59(III)-EDTA to Fe-deficient cucumber plants show that uptake and reduction rates of Fe were similar between all these complexes; on the other hand, when Fe-59(III)-LS were sprayed on Fe-deficient tomato leaves, they showed a lower uptake rate, but a similar reduction rate, than Fe-59(III)-EDTA did. In conclusion, Fe-LS may be a valid, eco-compatible and cheap alternative to synthetic chelates in dealing with Fe chlorosis when applied foliarly or in the nutrient solution of hydroponically grown plants.
