iron deficiency?

[TechGuy]

I have a row of tomatoes all looking similar. the ph is 7. I am guessing it's iron deficiency so I am planning to try an organic iron I can spray on. any other thoughts?

[Nematode]

Yup iron def.

[zipcode]

Yeah, looks like it. pH 7 is not all that high, but yes, a good old foliar spray will work, I use iron EDTA, the colour should come back really quick, a few days only.

[ilex]

I'm not convinced it's iron deficiency. Ph 7 is neutral, that's not a reason for iron deficiency. I would wait.

[Worth1]

Some soil doesn't have iron in it no matter what the pH is.
One thing to think about is if the plant is growing so fast the new leaves dont have time to green up.
This is a good sign.

[ilex]

Those were exactly my points. Ph 7 is not a reason for iron deficiency. Tomatoes don't care much about ph, but I don't want to get into that one again.

If you have it, then there's another reason ... heavy metals, no iron on soil, or something else.

My second point is that I think it doesn't look serious enough to do anything about it.

[ginger2778]

What variety is it?

[b54red]

Go ahead and spray and iron supplement on the leaves. That is early iron deficiency and it will usually get worse if not treated. At the stage it is in now it is easy to correct but if allowed to get to the point of very light yellow or even white it is nearly impossible to correct without severe stunting and future poor production from the plant.

If it is not iron deficiency it won't harm the plant to give it a little iron foliar spray. If it is iron deficiency you will see the results of the spray in about two or three days as the yellowing pale areas will get a darker shade of green.

Bill

[swellcat]

Tomatoes don't care much about ph, but I don't want to get into that one again.

Can you link me to the discussion(s) so that I may get into (meaning, mostly, read) it?

Would a pH of 8.0 change your contention?

Thanks.

[b54red]

If the soil you are using has adequate iron then the soil ph will make a huge difference. A high ph greatly increases the risk of iron deficiency.

Bill

[TechGuy]

I ordered my iron online so hope to apply tomorrow. In the mean time, leaves getting lighter and one plant is now drooping. I sprayed with borax thise evening (in case of boron def) while waiting for iron.

I am now seeing it on more plants of different varieties and different growing mediums in different locations. For example, I have some plants in straw bales along with plants in ground.

It's wierd, I have not seen anything like thise before.

So far, varieties include Cherokee Chocolate and Blonkopfchen. Other plants in same soil are not showing yellowing. It seems to be only newest growth on those affected and I am starting to see what looks like fungus on same new growth which I am guessing is related to weakness in plant.

I took leaf samples to my local ag extension office for analysis today. Hopefully iron will resolve

[RayR]

PH affects availability of nutrients in soil

[RayR]

As already been said, if your soil PH is 7.0 then that wouldn't be the cause of iron deficiency, but there are other causes.

This is a good article on the basics of iron (FE++)
http://spectrumanalytic.com/doc/library/articles/fe_basics?s[]=iron

[ilex]

Originally Posted by swellcat

Can you link me to the discussion(s) so that I may get into (meaning, mostly, read) it?

Would a pH of 8.0 change your contention?

Thanks.

I've got 8.5 and they grow very well.

More than the ph number, the key is why you've got that number. Also, things like soil life allow plants to push limits.

[swellcat]

. . . the key is why you've got that number.

Calcareous clay, shallow soil sitting on top of abundant limestone.


Ammonite fossil from the underlying limestone