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Distilled water versus deionized water

Q. Hi all,

I work in a plant biotechnology lab, and since we started we encountered many problems with the water. Our tap water happened to contain something toxic for the plants. Therefore, we started irrigated our plants with deionized water in which we add fertilizer. Our plant are still very weak. Would using distilled water make any difference ?

Rim Toumi
- Toulouse, France
2003

A. DI removes many of the ions from the tap water. If the regenerator did not rinse properly, you could have an unacceptably high sodium or chloride or sulphate content when first used. Did you check the mhos or micro siemens when first turned on.

My real guess is that you have a shortage of trace metals. It takes healthy plants more than N, P and K to thrive. If your original problem was too high a copper content, a huge amount of that is still in the soil and it does not take much to kill vegetation.

James Watts
- Navarre, Florida
2003

Thank you very much for your answer, and for the precious information !

Rim Toumi
- France
2003