SIGNS OF NUTRIENT DEFICIENCY

 

The following article is the work of Chuck Gadd
For which we give credit and may also be seen on his website
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_nutrient.htm
Mr Gadd has kindly given his permission to post the article here
Lilac froggy



Warning signs of Nutrient Deficiency

There are several important parts of analysing a nutrient deficiency.

Analyzing plant growth to determine nutrient levels can be an effective way to keep a planted tank running smoothly. In tanks with low growth (tanks with low lighting and without CO2 injection), plants will often show no visible deficiencies. But in high growth tanks with lots of light and with CO2 injection, plants are growing so fast that they can often deplete various nutrients. Even in a high growth tank, you should look at the fastest growing plants to see a deficiency. It would take a week or two for a slow growing anubias to show problems, while fast growing hygro would show the deficiency within a day or two.

When it comes to analyzing nutrient deficiencies, one of the first clues to look at is to determine if the deficiency shows up mainly in old growth, or new growth. This helps to narrow down the nutrient involved. Some nutrients are considered "mobile", which means the plant can re-claim the nutrient from old leaves, and move them to produce new leaves. Deficiency of mobile nutrients will show mainly in old leaves. Other nutrients are immobile, which means the plant can not move them from older leaves. This results in a deficiency which shows up on new leaves. Nutrients which are mobile include: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, and zinc. Nutrients which are immobile include : boron, calcium, copper, iron, manganese and sulfur.

Analyzing nutrient deficiencies is never an exact science. Some signs can point to several different nutrients. And in some cases, deficiencies of one nutrient can prevent the plant from properly using ANOTHER nutrient. In addition, the visible signs in cases of extreme nutrient deficiency can be completely different than the clues of a slight nutrient deficiency.

COMMON SYMPTOMS OF NUTRIENT DEFICIENCY IN AQUATIC PLANTS

Element          Leaves to first        Symptom
                     show deficiency          

Nitrogen         Old                           Leaves turn yellowish, Older leaves die off quickly in extreme deficiencies.

Iron               New                          Leaves grow in pale or yellow, Greenish nerves enclosing yellow leaf tissue
                                                     First seen in fast growing plants .

Potassium       Old                            Pinholes appear in older leaves, and slowly enlarge. Yellow areas. Withering of
                                                     leaf edges and tips.

Calcium           New                         Distorted leaf growth, cupped leaves, twisted and bent leaves, twisted and short roots.
                                                    Damage and die off of growing points. Yellowish leaf edges.
                                                    I have seen an extreme Calcium deficiency which resulted in a sword plant where new
                                                    leaves were growing in almost completely white.

Magnesium      Old                          Yellow spots
                                                   Often appears similar to iron deficiency since mg deficiency prevents a plant from
                                                   properly using iron. Yellowing of old leaves starting from edges while major veins remain
                                                   green.

Boron             New                        Dead shoot tips, new side shoots also die
                                                   Brittle stems. Similar to calcium.

Sulfur             New                        Similar to nitrogen deficiency.

Manganese     New                         Dead yellowish tissue between leaf nerves.

Copper           New                         Dead leaf tips and withered edges.

Zinc               Old                           Yellowish areas between nerves, Starting at leaf tip and edges.

Molybdenum   Old                           Yellow spots between leaf nerves, then brownish areas along edges.
                                                    Inhibited flowering.

Phosphorus     Old                           Stunted growth. Sometimes leaves become darker green.
                                                    Also symptoms can be similar to nitrogen deficiency