Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer ISSN:0367-6315(Print) 2288-2162(Online) 한국토양비료학회 학회지

Nutrient imbalance in soils is one of the causes of lowering crop productivity, which can be reduced by supplying insufficient nutrients or increasing their availability. Chelating agents can be used to control the availability and balance of soil nutrients by complexing with metal cations. To investigate the effects of chelating agent and micronutrient application on plant growth, lettuces were cultivated in a slightly alkaline, Ca-enriched saline soil and an acidic, weakly saline soil. The soils were treated with DTPA (diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid) as a chelating agent and Fe, Mn, Zn, and Cu as micronutrients. In the case of the alkaline saline soil, the Fe and Mn uptake and dry matter yield of lettuce tended to increase more in the DTPA treatment than the micronutrients treatment and especially were the largest (P < 0.05) in the mixed treatment of DTPA and micronutrients. In the case of the acidic saline soil, the DTPA treatment increased the Ca and Mg uptake and growth of lettuce, and the micronutrient treatment increased the Fe and Mn uptake of lettuce without changing the growth of lettuce. Those results suggested that as changes in nutrients availability with soil salinity and pH depend on chemical species, DTPA treatment enhances plant growth by increasing plant uptake of less available micronutrients such as Fe and Mn in an alkaline saline soil and of less available macronutrients such as Ca and Mg in an acidic saline soil.

Dry matter yield of lettuce leaves grown in (a) a slightly alkaline, Ca-enriched saline soil and (b) an acidic, slightly saline soil treated with DTPA and micronutrients (Micro).