Plant guide:🍇 Grapes
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Nutrients

Iron Chlorosis in Alkaline Soil

Commonly affects: Vitis vinifera, V. labrusca (Grape)

New leaves turn yellow with distinctly green veins, an interveinal chlorosis pattern most pronounced in vines grown in alkaline or heavily limed soil.

Potential Causes

  1. 1Alkaline soil (high pH) locking up iron even when present in adequate amounts
  2. 2Overwatering reducing root function and iron uptake
  3. 3Naturally calcareous or heavily limed soil in some regions

Solution Steps

  1. 1Apply a chelated iron supplement as a foliar spray or soil drench for the fastest results
  2. 2Lower soil pH gradually with sulphur amendments if alkalinity is the underlying cause
  3. 3Choose rootstock varieties bred for tolerance to high-pH, calcareous soils in affected regions
  4. 4Improve drainage if overwatering is compounding the problem

Prevention Tip

In regions with naturally alkaline soil, choosing lime-tolerant rootstock from the start avoids a chronic chlorosis problem that ongoing iron supplementation only partially manages.