Manganese is an important micronutrient for plants. Manganese (Mn) is available in soil as Mn2+.
Spotting Manganese Deficiency
Usually the first sign of manganese deficiency is interveinal chlorosis. This means that the portions of the leaves between the veins turn yellow.
Another symptom that frequently occurs is drooping leaves or downward curling of the edges of the leaf.
Usually you will see the symptom of interveinal chlorosis on leaves that are most rapidly growing. You may also notice necrotic pits that develop on these young plants. However as the deficiency becomes more widespread, both old and young leaves become effected.
The growing points at the tips of the leaves generally remain unaffected.
Manganese Deficiency Mimics
Be aware that copper deficiency can also result in interveinal chlorosis. Although it may be subtle, one way to tell the difference between the two is that there will be a distinct wilting of leaves with copper deficiency.
How to Fix Manganese Deficiency
Soil’s with high pH result in decreased solubility of manganese. In these soils, it is more difficult for a plant’s roots to take up manganese. Therefore, one common fix for the problem is that the soil’s pH should be lowered.
Other Macro and Micronutrients
As you may know, there are many other macronutrients and micronutrients that are important to proper plant growth. The macronutrients is split up into primary macronutrients and secondary macronutrients.
Learn more about each nutrient and how it effects plants so you can properly diagnose any deficiencies in your plants.
I also recommend checking out Earthpod Fertilizer capsules. While you can get the same results with other fertilizers if you’re very diligent with the right N-P-K ratios and other nutrients, these fertilizer capsules help take out a lot of the guess work. Furthermore, they utilize microbe technology to make sure all the macro and micro nutrients are delivered to your plants.
