Aminochelate fertilizers: the new approach to the old problem; a review

Aminochelate fertilizers are the latest novelties regarding plant nutrition in agricultural production systems. They are part of the modern formulae of fertilizers which are synthesized based on various amino acids, mainly glycine. In recent years, they have had a rapid growth in the marketplace. Their rapid growth in formulations, manufacturing, diversity and application is mainly due to the novel understandings regarding diverse roles of amino acids in plant metabolism. Compared to routine fertilizers or other commercially synthetic chelators such as EDTA; however, aminochelates represent a safer and more efficient form of fertilizer, resulting in better plant performance and less environmental risks. Aminochelates represent effective fertilizers for both soil and particularly for foliar applications. Despite, aminochelates having quickly dominated the fertilizer markets in many countries, there is not enough scientific data and information regarding detailed responses of crops to these types of fertilizers. This in part, may be due to their mixed composition of several nutrient elements, giving various nutrients effects, meaning that conducting scientific experiments and concluding remarks,, would be very difficult. This review provides information concerning different aspect of aminochelate fertilizers including their history, structure, types, value and effects on agricultural crops.