If your plants look discolored, stunted, or have low yields, a nutrient deficiency might be the culprit. Many nutrients other than nitrogen, including calcium and phosphorus, play a vital role in plant growth. If your plant exhibits a deficiency symptom, make sure to get a soil test before you add any amendments.
|
Nutrient |
Function |
Deficiency symptoms |
Source |
| Nitrogen | Required for all phases of growth and development | Lower leaves light green or yellowish; plant is stunted. | Blood meal, composted poultry manure, feather meal. |
| Phosphorus | Strengthens stems, helps in resistance to pests and diseases, fruiting and flowering | Lower leaves and stem are reddish; upper leaves are dull, pale; failure to flower or produce fruit. | Bone meal, colloidal or rock phosphate, fish meal |
| Potassium | Required for formation of all sugars, starches and proteins; contributes to cold-hardiness; root development. | Lower leaves spotted, mottled or curled; underdeveloped roots, stem tissue may appear weak | Composted manure, wood ashes, greensand, seaweed. |
| Calcium | Required for cell growth and division, helps plants use nitrogen | Tipburn on lettuce, blossom-end rot in pepper and tomatoes. | Bone meal, gypsum, lime. |
| Sulfur | Constituent of protein and certain vitamin complexes. | New leaves are yellowish. | Composted manure, gypsum, Sul-Po-Mag. |
| Magnesium | Constituent of chlorophyll; required for enzyme action. | Whitish patches appear first on older leaves, between leaf veins. | Sul-Po-Mag, Epsom salts |
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