A biodegradable Fe-fertilizer with high mechanical property and sustainable release for potential agriculture and horticulture applications

Iron deficiency is a severe problem in agriculture globally, which can inhibit the synthesis of chlorophyll in plants, can lead to leaf chlorosis, and can further significantly affect the quality and yield of crops. Therefore, the development of a low-cost and eco-friendly ferrum fertilizer is an attractive tendency. In this study, a novel biodegradable ferrum fertilizer composed of oxidized sodium alginate and aminated lignin was developed via crosslinking and chelation. The preparation condition of the AL-OSA20 beads and their application performance was examined. The results showed that the AL-OSA20 beads exhibited excellent compressive stress of more than 15 MPa, and sustained Fe release behavior. Moreover, a degradation rate of 55.6 wt% was attained for the AL-OSA20 beads after burial for 50 d in soil. All the results in this study indicated that the as-prepared Fe-fertilizer has promising application in sustainable development of modern agriculture and horticulture.