Effects of DTPA, HEDTA, and EDDS on the Growth of Watermelon and Chemical Properties of Plastic Film House Soil

Abstract

A chelating agent helps crops to reuse as nutrients by mobilizing salts from the soil. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of Diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA), N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-ethylene diaminetriacetic acid (HEDTA), and Ethylene diamine disuccininc acid (EDDS) for improving plant growth and reusing accumulated nutrients in soils of plastic film house. Two experiments were carried out of follows: i) For the incubation test, the availability of nutrients were examined for soils treated with distilled water, 1 mM of DTPA, HEDTA and EDDS solutions. ii) In the pot test, the impacts of watermelon growth response were examined by adding 0.5, 1, and 5 mM of chelating agent to soil. In incubation test, application of chelating agents increased the availability of soil nutrients in the following order : DTPA ≒ HEDTA > EDDS > distilled water. However, biomass of watermelon in pot test, tended to be highest in EDDS 1 mM. The absorption amount of N, P, and K of crop in EDDS 1 mM was similar to that of NPK treatment and K, Ca, Mg, and Fe tended to be high. Soil Electrical conductivity (EC) of 1 mM EDDS showed a 66% decrease compared to no treatment. These results showed that EDDS could be improved the watermelon growth. Further research is needed to evaluate the effects of EDDS for plant growth on field scale.Difference in watermelon biomass by chelating agents (DTPA, HEDTA, and EDDS) and their concentrations (0.5, 1, and 5 mM) treated in salt-accumulated soil under pot scale (†Duncan’s multiple range test (p < 0.05), ‡Relative biomass percent of other treatments compared to NPK).