Phosphorus deficiency
Encyclopedia
Phosphorus
(P) deficiency is a plant disorder that is most common in areas of high rainfall, especially on acid
, clay
or poor chalk
soil
s. Cold weather can cause a temporary deficiency.
All plants may be, although this is an uncommon disorder. Particularly susceptible are carrot
s, lettuce
, spinach
, apples, currant
s and gooseberries
. Symptoms include poor growth, and leaves that turn blue/green but not yellow—oldest leaves are affected first. Fruit
s are small and acid tasting. Phosphorus deficiency may be confused with nitrogen deficiency
. Undersides of tomato plant leaves, and the veins and stems, may turn purple. stiff, stunted plants with purlish tinge.
It can be controlled by applying organic sources of phosphorus such as rock phosphate or a high-phosphorus fish fertilizer applied as a soil drench or foliar feed.
Plants that are naturally adapted to low levels of available soil phosphorus, however, are more likely to suffer from phosphate poisoning: the key is to provide the right level for any particular plant type, neither too high nor too low.
Phosphorus
Phosphorus is the chemical element that has the symbol P and atomic number 15. A multivalent nonmetal of the nitrogen group, phosphorus as a mineral is almost always present in its maximally oxidized state, as inorganic phosphate rocks...
(P) deficiency is a plant disorder that is most common in areas of high rainfall, especially on acid
Soil pH
The soil pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity in soils. pH is defined as the negative logarithm of the activity of hydrogen ions in solution. It ranges from 0 to 14, with 7 being neutral. A pH below 7 is acidic and above 7 is basic. Soil pH is considered a master variable in soils as it...
, clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
or poor chalk
Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
soil
Soil
Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
s. Cold weather can cause a temporary deficiency.
All plants may be, although this is an uncommon disorder. Particularly susceptible are carrot
Carrot
The carrot is a root vegetable, usually orange in colour, though purple, red, white, and yellow varieties exist. It has a crisp texture when fresh...
s, lettuce
Lettuce
Lettuce is a temperate annual or biennial plant of the daisy family Asteraceae. It is most often grown as a leaf vegetable. It is eaten either raw, notably in salads, sandwiches, hamburgers, tacos, and many other dishes, or cooked, as in Chinese cuisine in which the stem becomes just as important...
, spinach
Spinach
Spinach is an edible flowering plant in the family of Amaranthaceae. It is native to central and southwestern Asia. It is an annual plant , which grows to a height of up to 30 cm. Spinach may survive over winter in temperate regions...
, apples, currant
Ribes
Ribes is a genus of about 150 species of flowering plants native throughout the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It is usually treated as the only genus in the family Grossulariaceae. Seven subgenera are recognized....
s and gooseberries
Gooseberry
The gooseberry or ; Ribes uva-crispa, syn. R. grossularia) is a species of Ribes, native to Europe, northwestern Africa and southwestern Asia...
. Symptoms include poor growth, and leaves that turn blue/green but not yellow—oldest leaves are affected first. Fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
s are small and acid tasting. Phosphorus deficiency may be confused with nitrogen deficiency
Nitrogen deficiency
All plants require sufficient supplies of macronutrients for healthy growth, and nitrogen is a nutrient that is commonly in limited supply. Nitrogen deficiency in plants can occur when organic matter with high carbon carbon content, such as sawdust, is added to soil. Soil organisms use any...
. Undersides of tomato plant leaves, and the veins and stems, may turn purple. stiff, stunted plants with purlish tinge.
It can be controlled by applying organic sources of phosphorus such as rock phosphate or a high-phosphorus fish fertilizer applied as a soil drench or foliar feed.
Plants that are naturally adapted to low levels of available soil phosphorus, however, are more likely to suffer from phosphate poisoning: the key is to provide the right level for any particular plant type, neither too high nor too low.