6.01 Nutrients &
Deficiencies
Horticulture I
bit.ly/HORT601
A.Macronutrients
1. Macronutrients or primary elements are nutrients
that plants need in large amounts.
2. There are three primary nutrients: Nitrogen (N),
Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K).
Nitrogen (N)
a. Functions
1) Promotes growth for leaves and stems.
2) Gives dark green color and improves quality of the foliage.
3) Is necessary to develop cell proteins and chlorophyll.
b. Deficiency symptoms
1) Sick yellow-green leaves.
2) Short stems, small leaves, pale colored leaves and flowers.
3) Slow and dwarfed plant growth.
Phosphorus (P)
a. Functions
1) Stimulates early formation and growth of roots.
2) Provides for fast, vigorous growth and speeds maturity.
3) Stimulates flower and seed development.
b. Deficiency symptoms
1) Decrease in growth.
2) Slow to maturity.
3) Older leaves are purplish color.
Potassium (K)
a. Functions
1) Used to form carbohydrates and proteins.
2) Used in the formation and transfer of starches, sugars and oils.
3) Increases disease resistance, vigor and hardiness.
b. Deficiency symptoms
1) Mottled, spotted streaked or curled leaves.
2) Scorched, burned dead leaf tips or margins.
Secondary Nutrients (Ca, Mg, S)
There are three secondary nutrients Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg) and Sulfur
(S).
Calcium (Ca)
a. Functions
1) Improves plant vigor.
2) Influences intake and synthesis of other plant nutrients or elements.
3) Improve part of the cell walls.
b. Deficiency symptoms
1) Small developing leaves and wrinkled older leaves are evident.
2) Dead stem tips are evident.
Magnesium (Mg)
a. Functions
1) Influences the intake of other essential nutrients.
2) Helps make fats.
3) Assists in translocation of phosphorus and fats.
b. Deficiency symptoms
1) Interveinal chlorosis is the yellowing of leaves between green veins.
2) Leaf tips are curled and cupped upward.
3) Causes slender, weak stems.
Sulfur (S)
a. Functions
1) Promotes root growth and vigorous vegetative growth.
2) Essential to protein formulation.
b. Deficiency symptoms
1) Young leaves are light green with lighter colored veins
2) Leaves are yellow and stunted.
Micronutrients (trace elements)
Micronutrients or trace elements are nutrients that plants need in small amounts.
Iron (Fe)
a. Functions
1) Is essential for chlorophyll production.
2) Helps to carry electrons to mix oxygen with other elements.
b. Deficiency symptoms
1) Mottled and interveinal chlorosis are found in young leaves.
2) Causes stunted growth and slender, short stems.
Copper (Cu)
a. Functions
1) Helps with the use of iron.
2) Helps with respiration.
b. Deficiency symptoms
1) Young leaves are small and permanently wilted.
2) Multiple buds at stem tips.
Zinc (Z)
a. Functions
1) Helps with the plant’s metabolism.
2) Helps form growth hormones.
3) Helps with plant reproduction.
b. Deficiency symptoms
1) Slows growth between nodes.
2) New leaves are thick and small.
3) Spots between the veins and discolored veins.
Boron (B)
a. Functions
1) It affects water absorption by the roots.
2) It translocates or moves sugars throughout the plant.
b. Deficiencies symptoms
1) It causes short, thick stem tips.
2) The young leaves of terminal buds are light green at the base.
3) The leaves become twisted and die.
Molybdenum (Mo)
a. Functions
1) Is used for plant development.
2) Is used for reproduction.
b. Deficiency symptoms
1) Stunted plant growth is evident.
2) It causes yellow leaves, upward curling leaves
and leaf margin burn.
Manganese (Mn)
a. Functions
1) It helps the plants metabolism.
2) It helps with nitrogen transformation.
b. Deficiency symptoms
1) Interveinal chlorosis is evident.
2) The young leaves die.
Chlorine (C)
a. Functions
1) Essential to some plant processes.
2) Acts in the enzyme system.
b. Deficiency symptoms
1) Usually there are more problems with too much chlorine or toxicity than
with a deficiency.
2) Chlorine is found in the soil.
Review
● 6.00 Quizlet (Test Questions)
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