Table 1. Soil conditions inducing nutrient deficiencies for crop plants
| Nutrient |
Conditions inducing deficiency |
| N |
Excess leaching with heavy rainfall, low organic matter content of soils, burning the crop residue |
| P |
Acidic condition, calcareous soils |
| K |
Sandy, organic, leached and eroded soils; intensive cropping system without addition of fertilizer |
| Ca |
Acidic, Alkali, or sodic soils |
| Mg |
Similar to Calcium |
| S |
Low organic matter content of soils ; use of N and P fertilizers containing no sulfur, burning the crop residue |
| Fe |
Calcareous silt and clays, high organic matter, calcareous soils |
| Zn |
Highly leached acidic soils, calcareous soils, high levels of Ca, Mg, and P in the soils |
| Mn |
Calcareous silt and clays, high organic matter, Calcareous soil |
| B |
Sandy soils, naturally acidic leached soils, alkaline soils with free lime |
| Mo |
Highly podzolized soils ; well drained calcareous soils |
Source: http://www.plantstress.com/Articles/min_deficiency_i/impact.htm
Table 2. Range in nutrient content commonly found in soils
| Nutrient |
Normal range |
| Per cent (%) |
Parts per million (ppm) |
| Nitrogen |
0.02-0.50 |
200-5000 |
| Phosphorus |
0.01-0.20 |
100-2000 |
| Potassium |
0.17-3.30 |
1700-33000 |
| Calcium |
0.07-3.60 |
700-36000 |
| Magnesium |
0.12-1.50 |
1200-15000 |
| Sulphur |
0.01-0.20 |
100-2000 |
| Iron |
0.50-5.00 |
5000-50000 |
| Manganese |
0.02-1.00 |
200-10000 |
| Zinc |
0.001-0.025 |
10-250 |
| Boron |
0.0005-0.015 |
5-150 |
| Copper |
0.0005-0.015 |
5-150 |
| Chlorine |
0.001-0.10 |
10-1000 |
| Cobalt |
0.0001-0.005 |
1-50 |
| Molybdenum |
0.00002-0.0005 |
0.2-5
|
Nutrient mobility in soil
Very Mobile – (prone to leaching) nitrate Nitrogen, sulfate Sulfur, Boron
Moderately Mobile – Ammonium Nitrogen (Ammonium Nitrogen is temporarily immobile), Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Molybdenum
Immobile – Organic Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Copper, Iron, Manganese, Zinc (Chelated forms of Copper, Iron, Manganese and Zinc are mobile and resistant to leaching)
Nutrient mobility in plants
Very mobile – Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Magnesium
(Deficiency symptoms appear first in older leaves and quickly spread throughout the plant)
Moderately mobile – Sulfur, Copper, Iron, Manganese, Molybdenum, Zinc
(Deficiency symptoms first appear in new growth but do not readily translocate to old growth)
Immobile – Boron, Calcium (Calcium is very immobile)
Table 3. Ranges of the major elements and micronutrients in mature leaf tissue generalized as deficient, sufficient or excessive for various plant species
| Essential elements |
%
Deficient |
% Sufficient or Normal |
% Excessive or Toxic |
| Major Elements |
|
|
|
| Nitrogen (N) |
<2.50 |
2.50 - 4.50 |
>6.00 |
| Phosphorus (P) |
<0.15 |
0.20 - 0.75 |
>1.00 |
| Potassium (K) |
<1.00 |
1.50 - 5.50 |
>6.00 |
| Calcium (Ca) |
<0.50 |
1.00 - 4.00 |
>5.00 |
| Magnesium (Mg) |
<0.20 |
0.25 - 1.00 |
>1.50 |
| Sulfur(S) |
<0.20 |
0.25 - 1.00 |
>3.00 |
| Micronutrients |
ppm |
ppm |
ppm |
| Boron (B) |
5 - 30 |
10 - 200 |
50 - 200 |
| Chlonne (Cl) |
<100 |
100 - 500 |
500 - 1,000 |
| Copper (Cu) |
2 - 5 |
5 - 30 |
20 - 100 |
| Iron (Fe) |
<50 |
100 - 500 |
>500 |
| Manganese (Mn) |
15 - 25 |
20 - 300 |
300 - 500 |
| Molybdenum (Mo) |
0.03 - 0.15 |
0.1 - 2.0 |
>100 |
| Zinc(Zn) |
10 - 20 |
27 - 100 |
100 - 400 |
Source:
Growth and Mineral Nutrition of Field Crops, Third Edition. By Nand Kumar Fageria, Virupax C. Baligar, Charles Allan Jones, 2011. CRC Press, Taylor and Francis Group.
http://www.cropnutrition.com/efu-plant-analysis#diagnosis-of-nutrient-status |
