How Iron Boosts Crop Nutrition and Enhances Soil Health
25 Sep 242m 44s

Although iron is abundant in the soil, it often isn't plant-available due to its strong positive charge. This can lead to phosphorus being tied up in the soil, forming iron phosphate, which restricts the energy production needed for plant growth. High pH soils can drive iron out, making it less available to plants. Farmers are exploring ways to manage iron and phosphorus levels in the soil through different products that help release these nutrients and facilitate their uptake by plants. Moreover, iron is vital in nitrogen assimilation, which contributes to the production of proteins and sugars essential for crop yield. Understanding how to manage iron and nitrogen through foliar applications can improve the growth and productivity of crops like soybeans.

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00:00 So irons, I think it's a pretty neat little micronutrient. They call it micronutrient. 00:20 But actually for our studies here in Western Iowa and the research we've done, if you look at the soil, one of the biggest mineral deposits in the soil is actually 00:28 iron, but it doesn't mean it's plant available. And when we get in the soil, it can be kind of a negative, so to speak. 00:35 'cause iron's a strong positive charge. One of our key nutrients we look for in the plant's, phosphorus, well, it's a negative charge, well, iron 00:42 and phosphate tied together 'cause they're opposite charges and bond together and create iron phosphate. 00:48 And that's one of the big things that ties up our phosphorus in the soil. ATPs and adeno, tri phosphate. 00:54 So that's main energy source in the plant. So if we can't get phosphorus into the plant, we don't have the energy to, for the sun 01:01 to be converted through the plant. If we get high phs, soils that are high and calcium or magnesium, they'll drive iron outta the soil 01:13 and make it less available in that you can get what in soybeans? Um, if you go east of here towards the center like Des 01:19 Moines, Iowa, Ames, Iowa up that we call it Des Moines lo of soil, you'll get yellow spots on the field 01:24 and we call it IDC, which is iron deficiency sclerosis. So the planting get enough iron in it to, to do the functions iron does. 01:31 And it'll actually be a negative to the plant 'cause it's, the soil is suffocating the iron, so to speak, probably the best way to say it, and affecting the plant. 01:41 So iron's actually kind of a hindrance in the soil at times because of its soil characteristics. 01:46 So we deal with that in different ways. Uh, we use products to help break that bond, get that phosphorous plant available, 01:53 and even get that iron available too. So it, so that's how we deal with it in soil. Uh, once it gets into the plant, it has one of, 02:01 probably the key things it does is help assimilate nitrogen in the plant. It's part of the key reaction phases in the plant, uh, 02:08 to convert nitrogen and protein. And protein turns into sugars, all that stuff that are important. 02:15 And for the growth of the fruit or the seed or the things we harvest basically outta crops, soybeans or whatever. 02:21 So we have a lot of iron in the soil and we struggle to get in the plant. So we're really starting to learn how 02:25 to manage nitrogen in the plant by small doses here and there for foer applications to help us use that essential micronutrient 02:33 and the key phases of the growing of our crops.