Molasses, Did You Know?

[ScottinAtlanta]

What equipment do you use to apply?

[amideutch]

What equipment do you use to apply?

Nothing fancy, just a 1 gal Gilmour Sprayer. Ami

http://www.amazon.com/Gilmour-Innova...lmour+sprayers

[RayR]

Texas Plant and Soil lab has a great article on how adding CARBOHYDRATES SUGARS affects plant growth.

[Stvrob]

Could molasses be used as a foliar spray to treat Iron Chlorosis? Is the iron in it sufficient? Or is there some way to add iron to it?

[amideutch]

Could molasses be used as a foliar spray to treat Iron Chlorosis? Is the iron in it sufficient? Or is there some way to add iron to it?

It can't hurt to try. You can use it as a soil drench as well. You need to find out what is causing your Iron Chlorosis. Alkaline soils (PH above 7.0) or decomposing organic matter in alkaline soil can cause iron deficiency. Poor drainage can be another cause.

Ami

Nutrients in
Blackstrap Molasses
2.00 tsp (13.67 grams)
Nutrient%Daily Value

manganese18%

copper14%

iron13.2%

calcium11.7%

potassium9.7%

magnesium7.3%

vitamin B65%

selenium3.4%

[Durgan]

Before I rush out to purchase a keg of molasses, there had better be a bit more evidence of the beneficial effects of applying. Anecdotal musings leave a lot to be desired, often the conclusions drawn have no relevancy to the situation. IMO

[b54red]

I had some success with adding a little molasses and some chelated iron to water and using it as a foliar spray. It worked better than anything else I have tried. It was far more effective than using it as a soil drench; but I have no idea why.

[RayR]

Originally Posted by Durgan

Before I rush out to purchase a keg of molasses, there had better be a bit more evidence of the beneficial effects of applying. Anecdotal musings leave a lot to be desired, often the conclusions drawn have no relevancy to the situation. IMO

I haven't seen any evidence that the iron content of molasses would make a effective foliar treatment for iron deficiency. The question is...what form of iron is in molasses? I don't know. Molasses mixed with water will remove rust from iron, but if it remains as chelated iron oxide, it wouldn't be in an available form to the plant.
The most effective forms of iron for foliar treatment are the soluble mineral form, iron sulfate or the organic form, amino chelated iron.

Originally Posted by b54red

I had some success with adding a little molasses and some chelated iron to water and using it as a foliar spray. It worked better than anything else I have tried. It was far more effective than using it as a soil drench; but I have no idea why.

Could it be the chelated iron had more to do with it than the molasses?
What chelator is in the product you used? For a synthetic iron chelate, the availability of iron in soil depends on what chelate is used and what the PH of the soil is.

[Stvrob]

The purpose of the chelate anion is to surround an iron cation and allow it to be soluble at pH and redox conditions in which it would otherwise be insoluble.

[RayR]

Originally Posted by Stvrob

The purpose of the chelate anion is to surround an iron cation and allow it to be soluble at pH and redox conditions in which it would otherwise be insoluble.

Right, but there are factors that determine the stability of any chelate in soil.
This article explains it pretty well. Iron Nutrition in Plants

AMINO ACID CHELATES—GIVING YOUR PLANTS A HELPING HAND

[amideutch]

Before I rush out to purchase a keg of molasses, there had better be a bit more evidence of the beneficial effects of applying. Anecdotal musings leave a lot to be desired, often the conclusions drawn have no relevancy to the situation. IMO

Nobody is telling you to go out and buy a keg! Only to give it a try and see what happens. Of course EDTA iron as used by the hydroponist would be effective. But this thread is about Molasses, isn't it. And there are several papers out there testifying to it's benefits.

Does this sentence ring a bell.

It can't hurt to try.

Ami

[amideutch]

Ray, excellent article.

Here’s a useful definition for chelation: chelation in soil increases nutrient availability to plants. Organic substances in the soil—either applied, or produced by plants or microorganisms—are natural chelating agents. The most important substances having this nature are hydroxamate siderophores, organic acids and amino acids. Hydroxamate siderophores are naturally produced by soil microorganisms and are essential in natural ecosystems to make nutrients soluble and transport them (especially iron and copper) to plant roots.

Although the beneficial bacteria that exist in the soil constitute another method of causing chelation and making plant nutrients more available, a little blanket of chelation placed around micronutrients—made from amino acids and other organic acids—is a very important added feature that most gardeners want to see in the nutrients they use.

And this is one of the benefits of molasses in that it helps in the chelation process.
Like I said before we need to know the cause of the iron deficiency before we can apply corrective actions to fix the problem. If you have alkaline soil using sulfered molasses might be the better choice as it will help lower the Ph of the soil increasing the availability of iron to the plant.

There is a product out on the street that uses iron oxide and molasses for iron deficiency problems.

Iron sucrate, a relatively new iron source, is manufactured from iron oxide and molasses to
form an iron-containing organic complex with limited water solubility. It has an advantage
that it is less prone to staining (due to its very low solubility).
Iron sucrate merits consideration in high pH soils, and additional scientific evaluation is
warranted for Colorado soils. It is marketed as Lilly Miller Iron Safe.

[dice]

Here is a foliar (or soil drench) iron product chelated with
lignosulfonic acid, a byproduct of breaking wood down to
make paper:
http://www.plantsthatproduce.com/ret...ron_01GAL.html

5% Iron, 3% Sulfur

Instructions on the bottle are for acreage or square feet. The vendor's
www page says .6 teaspoons per gallon of water (figure 1/2 teaspoon)
if mixing it in small quantities for small areas. Plants should be irrigated
*before* using it, and one should not mix it with fertilizers containing
liquid phosphates.

Shipping is more than twice the retail price, but I do not know anywhere
else online that carries it. If you have any farm stores nearby that carry
Fertall products, they might be able to order it from their distributor.

I have not tried molasses only for iron deficiency.

According to this chart from TotalGro, an excess of manganese,
zinc, or molybdenum can also interfere with iron uptake by
the roots: http://www.totalgro.com/concepts.htm

[Stvrob]

I had a dozen or so seedlings, in pots that were showing signs of iron deficiency. I crushed some hematite and mixed it with two mL of molasses and about 1 cup of very hot water and let it steep. Then I sprayed the foliage at night (I read most chelates are photosensitive).
The next day there was no dramatic improvement, but the second day they really did look better.

Oh, and it was my own fault they were getting chloritic. I've been experimenting with sifting coarse limestone and adding it as a soil amendment and I guess I got carried away when I was potting up seedlings.

[RayR]

Originally Posted by amideutch

There is a product out on the street that uses iron oxide and molasses for iron deficiency problems.

From the label of the Lilly Miller® IronSafe®, it looks like it is there is a bit more in there than molasses and iron oxide. I guess the chemistry of the product must produce soluble iron that the plant can absorb since iron oxide itself is insoluble.

GUARANTEED ANALYSIS F1475
Total Nitrogen (N). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4%
4.0% Ammoniacal Nitrogen
Sulfur (S). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12%
12.0% Combined Sulfur (S)
Boron (B). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.02%
Iron (Fe). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10%
0.1% Water Soluble Iron (Fe)
Manganese (Mn). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.05%
0.007% Water Soluble Manganese (Mn)
Molybdenum (Mo). . . . . . . . . 0.0005%
Zinc (Zn). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.05%
0.004% Water Soluble Zinc (Zn)
Derived from ammonium sulfate,
calcium sulfate, calcium borate,
sodium borate, ferrous sucrate,
ferrous oxide, manganese sucrate,
manganese oxide, sodium
molybdate, zinc sucrate, zinc oxide

Originally Posted by Stvrob

I had a dozen or so seedlings, in pots that were showing signs of iron deficiency. I crushed some hematite and mixed it with two mL of molasses and about 1 cup of very hot water and let it steep. Then I sprayed the foliage at night (I read most chelates are photosensitive).
The next day there was no dramatic improvement, but the second day they really did look better.

Oh, and it was my own fault they were getting chloritic. I've been experimenting with sifting coarse limestone and adding it as a soil amendment and I guess I got carried away when I was potting up seedlings.

It's interesting that you got some positive results with that brew.
I guess we all overdo things sometimes with our experimenting.