Soil and Plant Nutrition

Boron (B) - deficiency symptoms

1. Death of growing plants (shoot tips).
2. The leaves have a thick texture, sometimes
curling and becoming brittle.
3. Flowers do not form and root growth is
stunted.
4. “Brown heart” in root crops characterized by
dark spots on the thickest part of the root or
splitting at centre.

Boron (B) - deficiency symptoms

Manganese (Mn) - deficiency

symptoms
1. Chlorosis between the veins of young leaves,
characterized by the appearance of chlorotic
and necrotic spots in the interveinal areas.
2. Greyish areas appear near the base of the
younger leaves and become yellowish to yel-
low orange.
3. Symptoms of deficiency popularly known in
sugarcane as “streak” disease.
Manganese (Mn) - deficiency symptoms

Molybdenum (Mo) - deficiency

symptoms
1. Chlorotic interveinal mottling of the lower
leaves, followed by marginal necrosis and in
folding of the leaves.
2. In cauliflower, the leaf tissues wither leaving
only the midrib and a few small pieces of leaf
blade (“whiptail”).
3. Molybdenum deficiency is markedly evident
in leguminous plants.
Molybdenum (Mo) - deficiency symptoms

40 Farmer’s Handbook on Basic Agriculture