HUMIC SUBSTANCES AND AMINO ACIDS IMPROVE EFFECTIVENESS OF CHELATE FeEDDHA IN LEMON TREES

Lemon trees cv. Fino were fertilized with mixtures of FeEDDHA and humic compounds (leonardite) or aminoacids. All the treatments improved the iron (Fe) uptake respect to a control fertilized only with FeEDDHA. The effect was more marked with humic substances (HS). The copper (Cu) uptake also increased, which can be a direct effect of the organic compounds, or indirect as a consequence of the release of EDDHA after Fe uptake. Humic compound also improved fruit weight. Vitamin C was affected by all the treatments depending on the ripening condition of the lemons (in a cold chamber or in the field).