Impact of liming on utilization of 59Fe‐chelates by lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.)

A pot experiment was conducted to determine the utilization of iron (Fe) by lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. cv. Australian gelber). Iron was applied as ⁵⁹Fe in inorganic and chelated form, particularly biodegradable chelate, ⁵⁹Fe‐EDDS. Two stereoisomeric forms of ethylenediaminedisuccinate: [S,S]‐EDDS and a mixture of EDDS containing 25% [S,S]‐EDDS, 25% [R,R]‐EDDS, and 50% [S/R]/[R/S]‐EDDS, ethylenediaminetetraaceticacid (EDTA) and ethylenediimino bis(2‐hydroxyphenyl)acetic acid (EDDHA) were used as ligands. Lettuce was grown in unlimed and limed quartz sand with nitrate as the sole source of nitrogen. Liming decreased lettuce yields but had no effect on Fe concentrations, indicating that Fe concentrations were a poor indicator of Fe bioavailability within the plant. In unlimed sand, utilization of ⁵⁹Fe from all ⁵⁹Fe‐chelates was on the same level (2.8%–3.6%). In limed sand, only ⁵⁹Fe‐EDDHA maintained the ⁵⁹Fe utilization on a level (3%) comparable to that in unlimed sand. Although the utilization of ⁵⁹Fe from the other chelates decreased to 0.6%–1.1% after liming, Fe concentrations were not affected due to the increased uptake of indigenous Fe. The most biodegradable form of EDDS, namely ⁵⁹Fe‐EDDS(S,S), provided ⁵⁹Fe for lettuce as efficiently as the mixture of ⁵⁹Fe‐EDDS stereoisomers and the ⁵⁹Fe‐EDTA. Utilization of ⁵⁹Fe in inorganic form was 0.5% and 0.03% in unlimed and limed sand, respectively. This study shows that biodegradable ligands are able to serve as chelators to sustain Fe availability in calcareous environments. They may be of use especially in drip irrigation, where ligand accumulations may pose a threat to groundwater quality.