Richard Snell, Barton County Extension Agent in Kansas, starts his recent article with a funny anecdotal story of what was called Iron blight when he was a kid (see article).
Richard explains that iron chlorosis occurs on trees, lawns and field crops. "In our area the trees and soybeans get it the worst. It seems to be more obvious when you have good soil moisture and we have had that the last month. My focus today will be on the trees and we will address other chlorotic situations in the coming weeks."
When iron in the soil is either deficient or unavailable to trees, iron chlorosis can occur. In most Kansas soils, iron is plentiful, but unavailable to trees. Iron is readily available to trees growing in soils with a pH of 5.0 to 6.5. In soils with a pH of 7.0 (neutral) and above, iron changes to an insoluble form that is not as available to trees. Many locations in our area have soils with a pH of 7.5 or above and thus are said to be alkaline or sometimes called calcareous or basic.
Read complete article at The Fence Post site>
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