How good is rust, iron oxide, as an iron supplement?

[plantlover13]

So this is what i'm thinking. I have a bunch of steel wool lying around, and steel wool is very easy and safe to burn. The result is iron oxide. How good is pure iron oxide as a supplement for plants?

[Doglips]

In a high pH you want to be using a chelated version of iron.

I don't know if plain ole rust is in a form that can plants use. 

The answer is sure to come.

[murahilin]

So this is what i'm thinking. I have a bunch of steel wool lying around, and steel wool is very easy and safe to burn. The result is iron oxide. How good is pure iron oxide as a supplement for plants?

This really seems like a question that you should do some googling for.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ss555

http://www.harrells.com/blog/irony-in-iron

[simon_grow]

Great question, I wonder if driving a nail into the trunk of a tree would be enough to prevent chlorosis?
Simon

[FlyingFoxFruits]

I wonder if you could apply ferrous sulfate to decomposing citrus or carambola (citric and oxalic acid are natural chelating agents) and use it to treat iron deficient plants?

[SeaWalnut]

I wonder if you could apply ferrous sulfate to decomposing citrus or carambola (citric and oxalic acid are natural chelating agents) and use it to treat iron deficient plants?

It would work and chelate somme iron .
But once the chelated iron gets into the soil and if the soil its not acid,then it will imediatly be lost( iron turns to rust).
For maximum 6-7 ph should work.
There is a chelate that its stable up to 10 ph and thats the best but also the most expensive.
Cheaper chelates are only good in low ph where you wouldnt normally need to add iron.
The cheap chelates do work well as foliar in neutral and alkaline soil grown plants ,but so does iron sulfate wich you can use directly as foliar spray instead of chelates.

FeEDDHA its the best chelate that can resist alkaline soils above 7 ( up to 10) without becoming rust.It is the most expensive form of chelated iron thogh.

[Guanabanus]

Be very careful to properly dose Iron Sulfate in foliar sprays, because it is one of the easier ingredients to burn leaves with.