NUTRIENT DISORDERS

Listed below are nutrient and trace minerals that are needed by plants with guidelines of nutrient imbalance. With observation and a corrective step, this should help with possible problem areas.
NUTRIENT DEFICIENCY EXCESS

Nitrogen

Older leaves turn chlorotic and may eventually die. Plant is stunted. Foliage is light green.

 Plant becomes over vigorous. Leaves become very dark green. Fruit clusters have excessive growth and fruit ripening is delayed.

Potassium

  Older leaves appear chlorotic between veins, but veins remain green. Leaf edges may burn or roll. Uncommon to show toxicity. Secondary manganese deficiency may occur.

Phosphorous

 Stem, leaf veins, (petioles) turn yellow, followed by reddish-purplish as phosphorous is drawn from then into the new growth. Seedlings may develop slowly. Fruiting is poor. No direct toxicity. Copper and zinc availability may be reduced.

Calcium

 Plant is stunted. Young leaves turn yellow. Blossoms die and fall off. Tomatoes may develop brown spots on the fruit. No direct toxicity.

Sulfur

 Younger leaves become yellow with curling at base. Older leaves turn light green. Small leaves.

Iron

 New growth pales. Veins stay green. Blossoms drop off. Yellowing between veins. Very uncommon

Magnesium

 Older leaves curl and yellow areas appear between veins. Young leaves curl and become brittle. No direct toxicity.

Zinc

 Leaves become chlorotic between veins and often develop necrotic spots. Reduces availability of iron.

Molybdenum

Older leaves turn yellow and leaf margins curl. Rare. Tomato leaves may turn bright yellow.

Copper

 Pale yellow. Leaves become spotted. Plant is stunted. May reduce availability of iron.

Manganese

 Yellow areas may appear between green veins in new leaves. No direct toxicity.

Boron

 New growth crumbles easily and looks deformed. Very uncommon
 

NUTRIENT DESCRIPTIONS

Nitrogen (N) Nitrogen is always listed first in the fertilizer grade (or N-P-K ratio) on nutrient product bags, boxes and bottles because it is one of the biggies. (For example, if the ratio on your nutrient package reads “11-13-3”, that means it contains 11 percent nitrogen.) Plants use nitrogen to produce new, green growth. Without it, new growth is really stunted and older plant leaves start to turn yellow and die. You’ll always want to look for symptoms of nitrogen deficiency in the older leaves first because, when nitrogen is scarce, the new leaves will hit up the old leaves for their nitrogen.
Phosphorus (P) Phosphorus, another biggie, is listed second in the N-P-K ratios. (That nutrient package with the “11-13’3” ratio contains 13 percent phosphorus.) Phosphorus is essential to plant fruiting and flowering because it promotes root growth. When you supplement the amount of phosphorus your flowering plants get, you’ll likely notice more blooms and more vigorous growth overall. Without enough though, young plants are slow to grow and mature plants won’t really feel like flowering. When plants lack phosphorus, their stems and older leaves often turn yellow and then a sort of reddish-purple. That’s because, as with nitrogen deficiency, the new leaves on the block are stealing phosphorus from the old timers.
Potassium (K) You guessed it. Potassium takes up the last spot in the N-P-K ratio. (So an “11-13-3” nutrient ratio contains 3 percent potassium.) Because plants use potassium to build cells and tissue, supplementing this nutrient contributes to overall plant hardiness. Stronger, more durable plants are usually more tolerant of temperature extremes and are more pest- and disease-resistant. Think your plants may lack potassium? Watch older leaves for signs of yellowing between leaf veins. Also, the edges of older leaves may roll up or look burnt.
Sulfur (S) One of the secondary macronutrients, sulfur helps plants maintain their dark green color. Mainly, plants use sulfur to create essential proteins. You won’t see signs of a sulfur deficiency in older leaves because sulfur can’t be moved around in plants like some of the other essential nutrients can. If your plants lack sulfur, younger leaves may look yellow and slightly curled. Too much sulfur can cause plants to produce really small leaves.
Calcium Have you ever grown tomatoes with ugly brown spots all over the fruit? Or had tomato blossoms that just died and dropped off? Your plants probably lacked calcium. As with sulfur, plants also need calcium to make proteins. Calcium promotes new root growth and makes plants super-vigorous. Look for calcium deficiency in young leaves. They will start out deep green and then turn yellow; also, their growth may look distorted
Magnesium (Mg) Even though it’s classified as a secondary macronutrient, magnesium is still a biggie. Without magnesium, plants can’t use light to make food! Plants also need magnesium to be able to take in their other essential nutrients and to make seeds. Signs of magnesium deficiency are similar to those of potassium deficiency. Older leaves will appear yellow between leaf veins, and entire leaves curl. Younger leaves, also may curl and crumble easily. As magnesium deficiencies progress, older leaves may become mottled with rust-colored spots.
Iron (Fe) Iron makes for healthy, dark green growth. As with magnesium, iron is essential for photosynthesis. Plants must have iron in order to produce chlorophyll. You’ll notice signs of an iron deficiency in new growth because iron-and most of the other microcnutirents-cannot be moved around from older leaves to newer ones. If you plants lack iron, new leaves will look very pale. Areas between leaf veins may be bright yellow while the veins themselves stay green. In severe cases, leaves and blossoms my drop off.
Manganese (Mn) In short, manganese makes things happen. Manganese is necessary for chlorophyll formation, and without it, plants wouldn’t be able to carry out essential cellular functions. As with plants that lack iron, yellow areas may appear between green veins in new leaves on manganese-deficient plants.
Copper (Cu) Copper contributes to many natural processes including plant metabolism and reproduction. Copper deficiency is pretty uncommon, but just so you know, plants lacking copper may have misshapen, yellow-spotted leaves.
Zinc (Zn) Plants use zinc in conjunction with other elements to carry our more natural processes including forming chlorophyll. Zinc deficiencies look a lot like those of manganese and iron. Young leaves turn yellow between leaf veins. Also, plant leaves may be smaller than normal with distorted edges.
Boron (B) Plants don’t need much of it, but boron does facilitate nutrient uptake and it helps plants to grow new tissue. With a boron deficiency, new growth crumbles easily and looks deformed; fortunately, it isn’t likely that your plants will lack this micronutrient.

Molybdenum (Mo)

 Plants need molybdenum to produce essential proteins. You’ll first notice a molybdenum deficiency in older leaves; they will yellow and curl up around edges. If the deficiency becomes severe, leaves will look very deformed before they die and drop off of your plants.
Last Updated: December, 2006
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