Symptoms
Zn deficiency results in stunted growth with shortened internodes.
Reasons
Zinc deficiency (right)
Zn deficencies are more common on high pH or calcareous soils or during cold, wet weather. Symptoms are more intense where soil temperatures are low and growing conditions are slow.
Zinc deficiency made worse by
Organic soils
High pH soils
Soils rich in phosphorus
Soils receiving high phosphorus application
Cold wet conditions
Zinc is important for
Structural and functional element of many enzymes
Important for internode elongation and photosynthesis