Plants Essential Elements

Macro and Micronutrients

Nutrients
MACRO-required in relatively large amounts MICRO-required in small amounts, minor or trace elements

Macro: non-mineral elements

Carbon (C) Hydrogen (H) Oxygen (O)

Macro: primary nutrients

Nitrogen (N) Phosphorus (P) Potassium (K)

Macro: secondary nutrients

Calcium (Ca) Magnesium (Mg) Sulfur (S)

Micronutrients
Iron (Fe) Copper (Cu) Zinc (Zn) Boron (B) Molybdenum (Mo) Manganese (Mn) Chlorine (Cl)

Nitrogen
Promotes growth of leaves and stems Gives dark green color and improves quality of foliage Necessary to develop cell proteins and chlorophyll

Nitrogen
Deficiency noted when leaves are a sick, yellow-green color Short stems, small leaves, pale colored leaves and flowers Slow and dwarfed plant growth

Phosphorus
Stimulates early formation and growth of roots Provides fast and vigorous growth and speeds maturity Stimulates flowering and seed development

Phosphorus
Symptoms of deficiency include slow maturity Older leaves are a purplish color Decrease in growth

Potassium
Used to form carbohydrates and proteins Formation and transfer of starches, sugars, and oils Increases disease resistance, vigor, and hardiness

Potassium
Deficiency symptoms include mottled, spotted, streaked or curled leaves Scorched, burned, dead leaf tips and margins

Calcium
Improves plant vigor Influences intake and synthesis of other plant nutrients Important part of cell walls

Calcium
Symptoms of deficiency include small developing leaves, wrinkled older leaves Dead stem tips

Magnesium
Influences the intake of other essential nutrients Helps make fats Assists in translocation of phosphorus and fats

Magnesium
Deficiency symptoms include interveinal chlorosis-yellowing of leaves between green veins Leaf tips curl or cup upward Slender, weak stems

Sulfur
Promotes root growth and vigorous vegetative growth Essential to protein formation

Sulfur
Deficiency symptoms include young leaves are light green with lighter colored veins Yellow leaves and stunted growth

Iron
Essential for chlorophyll production Helps carry electrons to mix oxygen with other elements

Iron
Deficiency symptoms include mottled and interveinal chlorosis in young leaves Stunted growth and slender, short stems

Copper
Helps in the use of iron Helps respiration

Copper
Deficiency symptoms include young leaves are small and permanently wilted Multiple bud at stem tips

Zinc
Helps plant metabolism function Helps form growth hormones Aids in reproduction

Zinc
Deficiency includes retarded growth between nodes (rosetted) New leaves are thick and small Spotted between veins, discolored veins

Boron
Affects water absorption by roots Translocation of sugars

Boron
Deficiency symptoms include short, thick stem tips Young leaves of terminal buds are light green at base Leaves become twisted and die

Manganese
Aids in plant metabolism Helps in nitrogen transformation

Manganese
Deficiency symptoms include interveinal chlorosis Young leaves die

Molybdenum
Aids in plant development Reproduction

Molybdenum
Deficiency symptoms include stunted growth Yellow leaves, upward curling leaves Leaf margin burn

Chlorine
Essential to some plant processes Acts in enzyme systems

Chlorine
Usually there are more problems with too much chlorine or toxicity than with deficiency

Macro and Micro Nutrients

Remember: C Ca Fe HOPKiNS Managed By My Cuzin MoCo ClZn