Journal of AgriSearch, 8 (4): 325-330 An Open Access International Peer Reviewed Quarterly ISSN : 2348-8808 (Print), 2348-8867 (Online) https://doi.org/10.21921/jas.v8i04.7748 Synthesis and Characterization of Iron Chelates Using Organic and Amino acids as a Chelating Agents and Evaluation of Their Efficiency in Improving the Growth, Yield and Quality of Blackgram D JAWAHAR 1∗ , S MURALI 2 , D JEYA SUNDARA SHARMILA 3 AND K SIVAKUMAR 4 ABSTRACT Deficiency of iron in plants is the most serious problem in recent agricultural practices due to the introduction of high yielding varieties, loss through leaching and reduced farm yard manure application. Chelating agents are widely used to increase the solubility of micronutri- ents, for stable and sustainable crop production. A chelate refers to a ring system that results when a metal ion combines with two or more electron donor groups of a single molecule. The lab experiment was carried out to study the synthesis of Fe chelates by using organic and amino acid based chelating agents. The synthesized iron chelate was characterized. A pot experiment was conducted to study the effect of foliar and soil application of amino acids and organic acids chelated micronutrients on growth yield and quality of blackgram. The plants were sprayed with single dose of organically chelated iron (1%) along with common ferrous sulphate on 25 and 45 DAS and untreated control. The results showed that foliar application of 1% ferrous glycinate chelate at resulted in maximum plant height, SPAD value, number of pods plant −1 , number of seeds pod −1 , pod length and 100 grain weight, Starch content and Protein content of blackgram in calcareous black soil. KĊĞĜĔėĉĘ Iron deficiency, Ferrous glycinate, Blackgram, Starch and Protein content Received on : 07/10/2021 Accepted on : 27/11/2021 Published online : 31/12/2021 INTRODUCTION D eficiency of iron in plants is the most serious prob- lem in recent agricultural practices due to the intro- duction of high yielding varieties, loss through leach- ing and reduced farm yard manure application. A chelate refers to a ring system that results when a metal ion com- bines with two or more electron donor groups of a single molecule. The compound with these characters is very much useful in agriculture. By addition of some micro-nutrients fer- tilizers, there is a chance of geĴing conversion of form that is unable to utilize by the plants. This is said to be plant unavailable form. But by application of micronutrient fertil- izers in chelated forms can be the solution for available form in plants (Nurchi et al, 2020). Chelation is a term that explains an encapsulation process. For example, a mineral like calcium, reacts with another mate- rial to form a guarding shell around the particular mineral or metal. The word chelate derives from the Greek word “chel”, meaning a crab’s claw and refers to the pincer-like manner in which the mineral is bound. Some chelating chemicals are shaped like a leĴer ‘C’ and surround the mineral with just one molecule. This type of binding is called a “complex”. When two molecules of the same material surround a mineral, it is known as a chelate. The thing is to be noted here is, some min- erals like boron and molybdenum are not favorable for form- ing complex because the nature of having one chemical bond. So, we can conclude that above mentioned minerals cannot be chelated but still they are supplied in market as chelating minerals (Clemens et al, 1990). “A chelate refers to a ring system that results when a metal ion combines with two or more electron donor groups of a single molecule. Actually, unidentate water molecules, which are coordinated with a metal ion, are replaced by the most stable bi, trio poly dentate groups of the chelating agent. This results in the ring formation. Metals bound in chelate rings have essentially lost their cationic characteristics. In some chem- ical reaction precipitation of these chelates are rare. The com- pound with these characters is very much useful in agricul- ture. By addition of some micro-nutrients fertilizers, there is a chance of geĴing conversion of form that is unable to utilize by the plants. This is said to be plant unavailable form. But by application of micro-nutrient fertilizers in chelated forms can be the solution for above mentioned form” (Sekhon, 2003). Plant available form of micronutrient can be estimated by determining the stability of chelate bond with the specific metal. An effective chelate relationship is one in which the rate of substitution of the chelated micronutrients for cations already in the soil is low, thus maintaining the applied 1 Professor, Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore 641 003, India 2 Research Scholar, Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore 641 003, India 3 Assistant professor, Department of Nano Science and Technology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore 641 003, India 4 Assistant Professor, Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore 641 003, India * Corresponding author email: jawahartnau@gmail.com 325