Lack Or Excess Of Trace Elements - Diagnostics By The Appearance Of Vegetable Crops

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

How to feed vegetables

This early summer has been cold and rainy. Sometimes there was a monthly precipitation rate per day. In such cases, all soluble nutrients are washed out of the soil layer to a great depth. It is necessary to help the plants and feed them. But who knows what?

Why are the recommended doses of fertilizers not always effective?

The reason for this is that our soils are very different in their chemical composition, and the content of vital nutrients in them is not the same. All nutrients are divided into macro and micronutrients.

Macro fertilizers are applied in large quantities. These are nitrogen, phosphorus and potash fertilizers.

The doses of micronutrient fertilizers are small, but their role in plant life is also great. They are part of vitamins, enzymes - living catalysts of reactions in organisms, both plants and animals.

× Gardener's handbook Plant nurseries Stores of goods for summer cottages Landscape design studios

The external signs of a lack of fertilizers in different plants are different, but there are general changes in growth and development caused by a lack or excess of nutrients. Visual diagnostics is a simple and accessible method for determining the need of plants for fertilizers for every amateur vegetable grower. I would like to draw their attention to the external signs of a deficiency or excess of certain chemical elements in various cultures.

With a lack of nitrogen, inhibited growth, short and thin shoots, small inflorescences, weak leafiness of plants, weak branching, small leaves of a pale green color are observed. Moreover, the yellowing of the leaves begins with the veins and the adjacent part of the leaf blade, and the parts of the leaf that are far from the veins may still retain a light green color. Leaf veins with a lack of nitrogen are also light. Yellowing begins with the lower, older leaves. They can acquire yellowish-orange, purple (in cabbage) or bluish-purple (in tomato) shades. Leaves with a lack of nitrogen fall off prematurely, the maturation of plants is accelerated. In potatoes, the leaves are erect, in tomatoes, the stems become tough, thin, the fruits are small, brightly colored when ripe.

Signs of nitrogen deficiency should not be confused with leaf aging. Here, yellowing begins from the leaf blade, while the veins remain green. The reason for the yellowing of the leaves can also be a lack of moisture in the soil.

However, an excess of nitrogen causes an overly intense growth. The leaves of the plants are dark green. The harvested crop is poorly stored.

With a lack of phosphorusplants also exhibit inhibited growth, shoots are short, thin, leaves are small, prematurely falling off. The color of the leaves is dark green, bluish, dull. With a strong lack of phosphorus, a violet-red tint appears in the color of the leaves. When leaf tissues die off, dark, almost black spots appear. The characteristic signs of phosphorus deficiency are delayed flowering and maturation. Potatoes show weak lateral branching and weak tops. The bush is compressed. The leaves are dark green, wrinkled; during the period of tuberization, a narrow, dark brown, almost black stripe appears at the tips of the lower leaves. The edges of the leaves dry up and wrap up. Budding is delayed by 3-5 days. Cabbage plants are dwarf, with dull dark green leaves with a strong purple hue. They fall off prematurely. Tomatoas a plant very sensitive to phosphorus deficiency, symptoms of phosphorus deficiency appear very early. Cotyledons at seedlings are directed upward at an acute angle. Leaves and stems are bluish green with purple and violet tints. Stems are thin, weak, tough. The fruits are set and ripen late.

Lack of phosphorus is more common on acidic soils with mobile forms of aluminum and iron.

× Notice board Kittens for sale Puppies for sale Horses for sale

Lack of potassiummost often observed on peaty, floodplain, light-textured soils. More often, signs of its deficiency are noticeable in the middle of the growing season. The leaves acquire a bluish-green color with a bronze tint, become dull, the edges of the leaf turn yellow and dry out (marginal burn), the leaf blades wrinkle. The veins appear to be embedded in the leaf tissue. The stem is thin, loose, lodging. Growth, development of buds and inflorescences is delayed. The potato plant is undersized, the internodes in the upper part are shortened, the bush is spreading. Cabbage has weak growth, leaves are dark green, with a bluish tinge, weakly chlorotic between the veins. The leaves are wavy, bent downward, and the burnt edges - upward. The growth of heads of cabbage is delayed. The young leaves of tomatoes are wrinkled and curved. Fruits ripen unevenly and may have greenish or greenish-yellow spots against a red background. In a cucumber, the ovaries either dry up completely, or the fruits become ugly with a narrow end, while with a lack of nitrogen, they acquire a pear-shaped shape and quickly turn yellow.

Lack of calciumobserved on sandy and acidic sandy loam soils, especially when applying large doses of potash fertilizers. Potassium, as a more mobile element, is absorbed by plants in the first place. Deficiency symptoms appear primarily on young leaves. They brighten, bend, their edges curl upward. The edges of the sheet are irregular in shape, they may show a brown scorch. In plants, apical buds and roots are damaged and die off, the roots are strongly branched. In potatoes, the leaves in the upper part of the plants are small, curl upwards parallel to the main vein of the leaf, the formation of tubers is weak. Dark spots of dead tissue appear in the tubers. On cabbage, a marble spot and white stripes around the edges appear on the leaves. On older plants, the leaves are serrated. Their edges are curled. The growth point sometimes dies off.

Magnesium is poor in sandy and sandy loam soils. With its lack, a characteristic form of chlorosis is observed - at the edges of the leaf and between the veins, the green color changes to yellow, red, purple. Tissues subsequently die off, while large veins and adjacent leaf areas remain green. The edges of the leaf are bent downwards, as a result of which the leaf is dome-shaped, the edges of the leaves wrinkle and gradually die off. The first signs of deficiency appear on the lower leaves. In potatoes, the lower leaves are pale green, brown spots appear between the veins. The tops dries up prematurely. On acidic soils, plants absorb manganese instead of magnesium. At the same time, a brown spot appears on the stems of the potato, the leaves become brittle and fall off prematurely.

Boron deficiency is most often observed on swampy and acidic soils after liming. Potatoes rarely suffer from boron deficiency. In some plants, it causes diseases: in beets - a "wormhole", in cabbage - a hollow stem. With a lack of boron in plants, the growing point dies, apical buds and roots die off, the stems bend, lateral shoots develop intensively, while the plants acquire a bush form. The leaves become pale green, scorched and curly. There is a lack of flowering or falling of flowers, fruits are not tied. In tomato, young leaves are dark purple (to black) in color. The fruits darken, areas of dead tissue appear.

With a lack of sulfur, the stems are thin, the leaves are pale green, but the tissues do not die off. The first signs appear on young leaves.

Iron deficiency is found on acidic soils after liming. On plant leaves uniform chlorosis (lightening) appears between leaf veins. The upper leaves are pale green and yellow, with white spots between the veins (the entire leaf may turn white).

Manganese deficiency most often occurs in peatlands, floodplain soils. Chlorosis is observed between leaf veins in the form of yellowish-green or yellowish-gray spots between green veins. In the future, these spots die off, while spots of various shapes and colors appear. The first signs of manganese deficiency appear at the base of young leaves.

Copper deficiency is most often found in peaty-boggy soils. Potatoes are relatively resistant to deficiencies in this element. Onion leaves turn white and dry out.

Zinc deficiency is observed on acidic sandy and boggy soils. With its deficiency, the leaves turn yellow, a bronze tint appears. In plants, rosette is observed, internodes become short, leaves are small.

By the appearance of plants, one can also judge the harmful effect of excess chlorine, manganese, and aluminum. If they enter the plant excessively, leaf tissues die off, growth slows down, sometimes the plant dies.

Potatoes react strongly to excess chlorine. He has the first signs of the harmful effects of chlorine appear after flowering. The leaf slices are folded in a boat along the main vein, then a light brown rim appears on their edges. The leaves dry up but do not fall off. The stem is thin, short, the tops can die off in July. The harvest is falling sharply. An excess of chlorine is observed when fertilizers containing a lot of chlorine are introduced into the soil.

With excessive moisture, the harmful effect of manganese is observed. A brown spot appears in potatoes, leaf petioles and stems become watery, very brittle, chlorosis appears on the lower leaves, later leaf tissues die off and turn brown. The tops dries up prematurely, the yield is greatly reduced. At the first signs of manganese toxicity, the soil should be calcified. It is better to add dolomite containing magnesium.

According to external signs, one can judge the lack of one or another nutrient in the soil and the need of plants for feeding, which should be carried out without delay as soon as the plants show the first signs of deficiency, and it is better not to allow the appearance of these SOS signals at all. However, growth retardation and changes in the appearance of plants are not always due to a lack of these nutrients in the soil. Similar signs are sometimes caused by damage to plants by pests or diseases, as well as unfavorable growing conditions (drought, low temperature, etc.). It is important to be able to distinguish between these changes and signs of nutritional deficiencies.

Today trade organizations offer many different fertilizers to hobby gardeners. Do not rush to get the first one that comes across. It is good to use complex fertilizers, especially with the addition of trace elements. For each crop in different phases of development, a specific composition of fertilizers is produced. And what is suitable for potatoes in the second half of summer is not suitable for feeding young cucumber plants in greenhouses. In addition, different soils also provide a different composition of top dressing for the same crop.

Wet dressing is usually done. The prescribed amount of fertilizer is diluted in a bucket (or liter) of water and watered with this solution over an area of 1 m², and then a bucket of clean water is poured onto the plants so that there are no burns. If your plants are very lagging behind in development, it makes sense to do foliar feeding. The concentration of the solution should not exceed 1% in this case. The nutrients through the stomata will be absorbed by the leaves and used immediately. Dry dressing before rain or watering should be done carefully. To do this, you can adapt a small dense plastic bag. Carefully cut off a small corner of the bag with scissors. Pour fertilizer into the bag, thoroughly mixing and crushing all the lumps. We carry this bag between the rows of carrots, parsley, onions and other crops,almost touching the ground. Fertilizers through the cut-out hole will evenly spill out onto the soil surface and there will be no danger of getting them onto the plants, even if the rows are close.