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Nutrient Deficiency and Toxicity Symptoms in Tree Fruit
Growers often look at their orchards and suspect that something is not quite correct. Listed below are general guidelines for diagnosing symptoms that result from deficiencies or toxicities of certain elements. A tree may be deficient in these elements not only because they are scarce but also because an excess of other elements has prevented a balanced uptake of essential elements.
The guidelines are not precise, and drastic changes in fertilizer practices should not be made based on a visual assessment. Pictures of many of these deficiencies and toxicities can be seen on the Web at http://tfpg.cas.psu.edu/, under “Nutrient Deficiency and Toxicity Symptoms in Tree Fruit.”
If you suspect a nutrient deficiency or toxicity, a leaf analysis should be conducted to confirm the visual symptoms. Information that follows was adapted from Childers (1966), Shear and Faust (1980), and Stiles and Reid (1991). See these sources for further reading and color photographs.
Elements required by plants are broken down into two broad categories: macronutrients and micronutrients. Plants need both to grow, flower, and fruit naturally. The distinction between the two groups is the quantities required by the plant. Macronutrients are needed in a larger amount and are usually expressed as percent dry weight. The micronutrients are required in smaller quantities and are usually expressed in parts per million.