ADOB Zn HBED – 7%

Characteristics

ADOB® Zn HBED – 7% is a specialty fertiliser, specifically designed to supply highly available zinc cations to plants in high pH conditions (above 7.5) and in calcareous soils. Owing to a patented production process, ADOB® Zn HBED – 7% is characterised by several unique properties. The entire concentration of zinc in the product (7% w/w) is 100% chelated by HBED and since the product contains no optical isomers, the total zinc concentration is completely effective and fully available to plants. The fertiliser is formulated as 100% water-soluble, free-flowing crystals without any impurities. Unlike other chelated-Zn fertilisers, ADOB® Zn HBED – 7% proves efficient in highly alkaline conditions (up to a pH of 12). As the HBED chelating agent is also used in medicine to treat patients suffering from various iron disorders, it is not only safe for humans, but also for the environment.

This product serves as an effective source of zinc under high pH conditions, when applied directly to the soil and when applied through fertigation and hydroponics. It is recommended for preventive and corrective fertilisation in all agricultural and horticultural crops.

Zinc is present in a large variety of enzymes, where it contributes to maintaining their structural stability. Zinc also works as an external activator for other important enzymes and is involved in a number of important functions in DNA and RNA metabolism, cell division and protein synthesis. It is crucial in the metabolism of the auxin indole-acetic acid (IAA), which enhances the apical growth of plants. Zinc deficiency is widespread among plants grown in highly weathered acid soils and in calcareous soils. In the latter case, zinc deficiency is often associated with iron deficiency (‘lime chlorosis’). The low availability of zinc in calcareous soils of high pH is mainly due to the adsorption of zinc to clay or CaCO₃.

Symptoms of zinc deficiency include stunted growth (“rosetting”) due to the shortening of internodes and a drastic decrease in leaf size (“little leaf”) or even, under severe zinc deficiency, death of shoot apices (“dieback”). Quite often these symptoms are combined with chlorosis, which is either highly contrasting or diffusive (‘mottle leaf’). In cereals such as wheat, typical symptoms include reduction in shoot elongation and the development of whitish-brown necrotic patches on middle-aged leaves, while young leaves remain yellowish-green and show no necrotic lesions. ADOB® Zn HBED – 7% can counteract zinc deficiency, quickly treating these physiological disorders.