What are common visual symptoms of iron chlorosis in alkaline soils, and what management option is most direct?

• A. Interveinal yellowing on newer growth; direct management is foliar or soil application of chelated iron or iron sulfate and adjusting pH to improve iron availability.
• B. Browning of leaf tips; apply more nitrogen.
• C. Uniform green color; reduce irrigation.
• D. Necrotic spots; apply fungicide.

Answer: (A)

Iron chlorosis shows up in alkaline soils because iron becomes insoluble at high pH, so the plant can’t take up enough iron. The telltale sign is interveinal yellowing on the newer leaves, with the veins remaining green as the deficiency shows up where growth is active. The most direct way to fix this is to supply iron to the plant and make iron more available by lowering the pH. This can be done with foliar or soil applications of chelated iron or iron sulfate, paired with practices that reduce soil pH or increase iron solubility. Other visual cues like browning leaf tips, a uniformly green plant, or necrotic spots hint at different problems (drought/salt/fertilizer burn, true disease, etc.) and don’t address the iron deficiency driven by alkaline conditions.