ADOB Zn IDHA – 10%

Characteristics

ADOB® Zn IDHA – 10% is a specialty fertiliser specifically designed to supply plants with highly available zinc cations. Owing to a patented production process, ADOB® Zn IDHA – 10% is characterised by several unique properties. IDHA is a state-ofthe-art, fully biodegradable chelating agent (75% degradation within 28 days), a trait which makes it the only environmentally-friendly synthetically-produced chelating agent on the market. The entire concentration of zinc in the product (10% w/w) is 100% chelated by IDHA, making it completely effective and fully available to plants. The fertiliser is formulated as fully water-soluble, free-flowing micro-granules without any impurities or dust. Due to the “raspberry” shape of the micro-granules, the product is not hygroscopic and is self-soluble, with no mixing required. The solubility of the product is 750g/l at 20^oC.

This product serves as an effective source of zinc. It is mainly recommended for foliar application, especially for fruits and vegetables, since its biodegradability means no residues on the produce we consume. The product can also be used in fertigation and hydroponics at moderate pH conditions. 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. Additionally, zinc works as an external activator for other important enzymes. Zinc is also 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.

Common symptoms of zinc deficiency include stunted growth (“rosetting”) due to the shortening of internodes, drastic decrease in leaf size (”little leaf”) or, 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 IDHA – 10%, however, can counteract zinc deficiency, quickly treating these physiological disorders.