COMMON SYMPTOMS OF NUTRIENT DEFICIENCY IN AQUATIC PLANTS

COMMON SYMPTOMS OF NUTRIENT DEFICIENCY IN AQUATIC PLANTS

By: Chuck Gadd

Element	Leaves to first show deficiency	Symptom
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