The Repercussions of the Combined Use of Potassium Iodate and Chitosan Iodate on the Controlled Fractionation of Iodine

Background: Iodine is found in soils in both inorganic and organic forms [Iodate-(IO3-) and Iodide-(I-)]. Iodine is highly prone to leaching and volatilization which results in iodine depletion in soils. Crops cultivated in these soils will be lacking in iodine and humans and animals eating food grown in these soils will be deficient in iodine. Numerous studies have focused on the process by which iodine is absorbed from the soil, but there is still paucity of knowledge on different fractions of iodine in soils. Methods: In our work, we assessed different fractions of iodine (Water Extractable, Exchangeable, Organic bound, Oxide bound and Residual iodine) in soil from different sources of chitosan and potassium iodate alone and combinations. The incubation experiment was carried out in the department of soil science and agricultural chemistry, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore in 2022. Potassium iodate and chitosan were applied in the form of soil alone, soil drenching and chitosan iodate complex at different stages of incubation. Result: The results suggested that combination and potassium iodate and chitosan complex has increased the iodine stability throughout the incubation experiment. As electrostatic interaction between chitosan and iodate prevents volatilization and gradually stabilizes the availability of iodine. Our findings offer more details on iodine mobility and behaviour in soil when it is used alone and combination with chitosan at different rates.