Symptoms of Mineral Deficiency in the Soil

This table chart will help you identify symptoms of mineral deficiency in soil and what the probable causes and remedies are.

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Element	Deficiency symptoms	Probable cause and remedy
Nitrogen	Growth is poor; shoots are short; leaves are small; and yellow brassicas turn pink then orange. Fruit or tubers are small.	As an immediate booster, spray with diluted liquid seaweed or fish fertiliser. Incorporate as much compost and manure as possible.
Phosphorus	Root development and flower bud formation are poor, and plants sometimes also show symptoms similar to that of nitrogen deficiency. Brown spots may appear on leaves, or leaf edges may turn brown. Fruit has an acid flavour.	Bonemeal is rich in phosphorus. Incorporate 120 g per square metre before planting. The deficiency appears more often in acid soils.
Potassium	Growth becomes stunted, and leaves turn a dull bluegreen, with browning at the leaf tips or leaf margins, or showing as blotches. Leaves of broad-leaved plants curl downwards.	Most often seen on light, sandy soils. Comfrey tea is high in potassium; dilute 1 part tea to 15 parts water and apply to soil. Wood ash is high in potassium.
Magnesium	Magnesium deficiency shows either as a loss of colour or as a mottling of red, orange, brown and purple tints.	Excessive potash application may be responsible. Spray with a solution of Epsom salts (250 g in 12 litres water). If liming soil, apply dolomite, which is rich in magnesium as well as calcium, or green sand.
Manganese	Manganese deficiency occurs in sandy and alkaline soils, frequently in combination with iron defi ciency. Chlorosis (loss of colour) begins on older leaves. The leaves of green peas develop brown patches. Beetroot leaves have red-brown speckling.	This is most evident in poorly drained soils. Lift beds to improve drainage. Overliming can also be responsible. Never apply manganese to soils with a pH below 6.
Iron	Chlorosis (loss of colour) occurs on young shoot tips and leaves, while the veins remain green. Eventually, shoots die back. This condition usually occurs in alkaline soils, which prevent plants from absorbing iron.	Sequestered iron (iron EDTA) used as a foliar spray produces rapid results. Check soil pH and acidify with sulphur and regular compost additions.
Boron	The roots of beetroots, swedes and turnips turn brown. Cauliflower curds also turn brown. Brown cracks appear across the stalks of celery. Apple cores become ‘corky’. The growing points of plants die off.	Mix 30 g borax with sand and disperse evenly over 18 square metres of soil. Or spray crops fortnightly with liquid seaweed fertiliser. Overliming can cause this problem.
Molybdenum	Leaves, particularly of broccoli and cauliflowers, develop a disorder known as whiptail. Leaves become distorted and shrink back to the midrib, giving a tail-like appearance. On tomatoes, leaves become mottled and roll forward.	Apply ground dolomite to acidic soils. Add kelp meal to soil. For a short-term remedy, apply sodium molybdate at 30 g per 8 litres water. This will treat 8 square metres of soil.
Calcium	This shows most commonly in tomatoes and capsicums as a darkened, shrivelled end on fruit. It also causes bitter pit in apples.	Uneven soil moisture causes a failure of calcium uptake from the soil. This is particularly evident in pot-grown plants and in light soils. Water regularly. To add calcium, incorporate crushed eggshells into compost.

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