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Re: Name that deficiency




    * From: CESSNABUM1 at aol_com

Jeff wrote:

Thanks for the offer Paul.[to send some iron DTPA] I just got flourish Iron
in the mail- what do you think about this source of Iron? Maybe Dr. Morin
can tell us if light affects the iron. If I dose flourish iron right now to
say .5ppm I would bet any amount that if I test in 24 hours it will be 0.
If I repeatadly did this would it stabalize? I guess it would if it was
being used by plants/algae and not light. correct?


I don't know what the chelator is for Florish iron. Maybe it says on the
bottle, or perhaps Dr. Morin will tell us.  I have five pounds of iron DPTA
because it was the only size they sold it in at the local garden store.
Besides, I feel really secure.  I am not going to run out of chelated iron
for the rest of my life!

If you keep adding the iron and you keep getting 0 on your test kit, I
suspect that it is precipitating out.  I don't see that happening with my
iron DPTA.  it lasts for weeks.

The iron will precipitate down into the gravel, where organic matter
collects, and the decay of the organic matter will lower oxygen levels
locally to the point where the iron will be reduced by bacteria.  Reduced
forms of iron are more soluble, and they get picked up by plant roots
easily.  They also get out into the water column again where they are
oxidized by another set of bacteria, and they precipitate out again.  I
suspect if they precipitate directly onto plant leaves and stems, the plant
can extract iron from the precipitate as long as it is in contact with
living cells.  So, even if the iron you add precipitates out soon, it will
soon get involved in cycling between substrate and water column. and plants
can get iron from this process.

Paul Krombholz in hot and dry (for this time of the year) central
Mississippi, where it got up to 91 today.