2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Modern fertilizers can have a wide variety of forms of release, and more and more often our hardworking summer residents are faced with such a concept as chelated fertilizers. And especially advanced gardeners and gardeners have already managed to appreciate all the advantages of such fertilizers, because chelates are not only perfectly absorbed by plants, but also boast the highest efficiency and absolute safety for the environment! What kind of fertilizers are these and why should you pay attention to them?
What are chelates?
This funny word hides complex mineral fertilizers, or to be more precise, a new generation of micronutrient fertilizers. Such fertilizers contain a whole range of microelements vital for the full development of plants, so they will become an excellent help at all stages of development of crops without exception - from the moment of germination of the planted seeds and the appearance of tiny seedlings and ending with the collection of the desired harvest.
Not so long ago, many fertilizer manufacturers included valuable trace elements in the form of soluble salts in their products, but in this case they were absorbed extremely unimportantly - by a maximum of 20 - 35%. In addition, these salts could easily create favorable conditions in the soil for all kinds of cross reactions, during which various indigestible compounds were formed, and some of these compounds needed additional processing by microorganisms living in the soil, and the other part was completely toxic. Yes, and such preparations had to be introduced into the soil with enviable regularity (just because of the low digestibility), which in turn led to a gradual salinization of the soil! As for chelated fertilizers, the microelements contained in them are absorbed by plants by almost 90%! And the chemical load on the soil in this case is reduced significantly!
Operating principle
Chelates are complex organic complexes formed by combining the most beneficial trace elements with an absolutely harmless exciting (i.e. chelating) agent. This agent reliably retains (and in a soluble form) all, without exception, the ions of trace elements, and they are retained until the moment they enter the plant. And as soon as these microelements get inside, they are immediately released, transforming into a biologically available form and breaking down into easily digestible compounds.
All chelates can boast of a fairly high biological activity, and their structure is as close as possible to natural substances - these features make them incredibly effective and absolutely safe. And they also do not enter into any third-party reactions and do not have the property of binding in the soil! That is why the majority of modern preparations intended for drip irrigation, foliar dressing and seed treatment before sowing are made on the basis of chelates!
How and when to use?
Chelates can be either consisting of a single microelement or complex, and their choice is directly dependent on the state of the soil and the crops growing on it. Fertilizers in a chelated form are used with equal success both for pre-sowing seed treatment and for seedling treatment (or transplantation) or flowering crops, in combination with pesticides and even for so-called "fruit-based" treatments! By the way, chelates can be used not only for garden plants, but also for indoor plants - the latter will also be very grateful for such care!
Before you start using chelates, you must carefully read the instructions - the features of the use of such drugs can vary significantly. Most often, chelated fertilizers are used for pre-sowing seed soaking, as well as for root or foliar dressing and, of course, drip irrigation. Perhaps the only drawback of chelates is their rather high cost, however, the truly incredible number of advantages of this kind of fertilizers makes this "drawback" absolutely insignificant!
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