How Chelation Improves Foliar Micronutrient Applications

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Micronutrients play a crucial role in plant health and development. These elements contribute to the plant's structure, aid in nutrient absorption and facilitate key enzymatic processes. Each micronutrient has its own agronomic function, but they all share the need to be readily available to the plant at the right time.

“An issue that many micronutrient products face is plant incompatibility,” said Kurt Gabrielson, vice president of research and development for Koch Agronomic Services (KAS). “Many micronutrients are metal cations with a positively charged ion, so they tend to get fixed in the soil. Once applied, they become tied up with other minerals, making them inaccessible to the plant.”

A solution to this problem is to chelate these micronutrient products, making them water-soluble and readily accessible for the plant to absorb in a foliar application. This process is key to gaining agronomic advantages in a variety of crops.

How chelation works as a protective shield

A chelating agent, like ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), works by bonding to a metal micronutrient ion in at least two places, forming a protective, cage-like structure. This “cage” shields the nutrient from other interactions in the soil and neutralizes its electrical charge, preventing it from becoming tied up and unavailable. As a result, the protected nutrient remains water-soluble and is more easily absorbed by the plant.

Improving operational efficiency

Aside from the agronomic wins, a major consideration is the operational benefit of having chelated micronutrients in a formulation.

Because micronutrients are charged molecules, they tend to coordinate with surface-active agents and other formulations in a tank mix, causing precipitation that can slow down an application.

In foliar applications, molybdenum (Mo) and nickel (Ni) are two micronutrients in particular that tend to be incompatible in non-chelated forms, causing inefficiencies. Neutralizing the charged atom into a neutral and water-soluble complex improves tank mix compatibility and, in turn, operational efficiencies.

“Nickel and molybdenum will react to form an insoluble complex if the nickel source is not chelated prior to mixing with molybdenum,” Gabrielson states. “Having nickel chelated in the formulation allows for broad tank mix compatibility, ensuring ease of use for the grower.”

OPTRIENT MoCo-Ni is a liquid foliar spray containing molybdenum (Mo) and chelated cobalt (Co) and nickel (Ni), providing growers a product that can be poured directly into a tank mix.

“We still recommend jar tests as a best practice, since you can’t account for every variable in the field,” said Gabrielson. “However, our chelated products have shown outstanding tank mix compatibility, allowing for smoother applications and fewer issues during mixing.”

Benefits for a wider variety of crops

Nut tree growers have used OPTRIENT foliar nutrients to improve flower retention and overall tree health. Now, the same core benefits of this technology are being applied to a wider variety of row crops, including cotton, sugar beets and peanuts. For these crops, the chelated nutrients in OPTRIENT MoCo-Ni enhance nitrogen utilization, supporting better plant health and optimizing yield potential.

Learn more about the advantages of OPTRIENT MoCo-Ni™

As a ready-to-use formulation, OPTRIENT MoCo-Ni delivers a targeted application of molybdenum, cobalt and nickel when and where crops need them most. Learn more about the advantages of OPTRIENT in row crops and how this technology optimizes your crop’s performance.

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