Assessment of Several Extractants for the Determination of Fe Availability to Corn (Zea mays L.) and its Critical Level in Some Calcareous Soils

Iron (Fe) is an essential micronutrient for plants and its deficiency occurs in calcareous soils. However, a suitable extractant for the estimation of plant-available Fe and its critical level in calcareous soils depends on the type of soil and plant. The objective of the present study was to evaluate several chemical extractants to estimate available Fe and its critical level for corn growing in calcareous soils from Chaharmahal-Va-Bakhtiari Province. The amount of available Fe was measured by DTPA-TEA, AB-DTPA, 0.01 M calcium chloride, Mehlich IІ, and Mehlich ІІI extractants. At the end of the experiment, corn was harvested, and dry weight, Fe concentration in the plant, and the amount of Fe uptake by corn were determined. Extracted Fe had a significant correlation with all extractants used with maize indices. . The highest correlation coefficients were determined between the DTPA-TEA (0.32-0.94) and AB-DTPA (0.43–0.96) methods and the plant indices. The results of this research showed that the DTPA-TEA and AB-DTPA methods were the most suitable extractants for predicting available Fe content in these soils and the critical level of Fe extracted by these extractants was 2.81 and 3.67 mg kg-1.