Question

t is a mineral deficiency and how can it be recognized? Your answer should include a definition of essential elements. Provide examples of specific deficiency symptoms for Maize How can farmers benefit from nutrient analysis of their crops? 1. Wha

Answer 1

Mineral deficiency makes a plant unable to complete the vegetative or reproductive stage of its life cycle.

Mineral deficieny recognized by leaf tips turns brown, yellow, reddish colour of leaves. New leaves are irregular,
curling of leaves.

The essential elements are chemicals needed by plants for their growth and development. The essential elements needed for plants are nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), sulfur (S), magnesium (Mg), carbon (C), oxygen(O), hydrogen (H) they are called macronutrients.
The micronutrients (or trace minerals): iron (Fe), boron (B), chlorine (Cl), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), molybdenum (Mo), nickel (Ni).

In maize
Deficiency in phosphorous makes leaf margins, veins and stems show faint purple which may spread across the whole blade of the leaf.

Deficiency of magnesium in the leaves show up red and purple faint and have a streaky appearance.

Deficiency of calcium makes young leaves which exhibit a light green colour or even whitish spots.

Plants require mixture of nutrient for their healthy growth. One of the major test every farmers has to done is soil test. It can help to determine the status of available nutrients to develop fertilizer recommendations to
achieve optimum crop production. Next is nutrient analysis of the plant - It helps which nutrient requires for plants at this stage to grow normally.