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Unfortunately even in a
controlled Hydroponics environment there can still be a problem
with deficiencies. Fortunately there are way to overcome these
deficiencies with the proper use of certain products. Below are
a few things you can do to help prevent deficiencies.
For more tips and ideas please contact us and one of our
knowledgeable staff members will be able to help you.
Monitor pH Levels -
There are lots of things that can cause a hydroponic nutrient
solution to drift outside of the ideal range of about 5.8 - 6.2. Usually,
if a nutrient solution is left unmonitored for too long, it can
start drifting outside of this range because it gets too dense in
raw, use nutrients. Other times, it might start becoming too acid or
too alkaline when you add new hydroponics nutrients or transfer your
plants to a new medium.
Since pH levels can change very
rapidly, it is important to check your pH level daily. The longer
your nutrient solution spends outside of this ideal range, the
greater the chance that your flowers or vegetables will suffer a
plant deficiency. Use a pharmaceutical grade pH adjustment product
designed specifically for hydroponics to make the necessary
adjustments. This way you have less of a chance of accidentally over
compensating your pH adjustments.
Keep Temperature Levels
Stable - Your nutrient solution should be fairly cool to
temperate, somewhere in the range of sixty six to seventy one
degrees Fahrenheit. You should be particularly
aware of this if you happen to live in an unusually warm or cold
part of the world. If you feel it is necessary to prevent plant
deficiency, take extra steps insulate your grow room against outside
elements.
You should also avoid
placing your reservoir directly on the ground in your grow room, as
the floor can be very cool, which can transfer to the reservoir and
cause a plant deficiency.
Keep an Eye on the
Phosphorus - Phosphorus is one of the most essential nutrients
in your nutrient solution. However, it is all too easy to suffer
form excess phosphorus, which can create deficiency in several
nutrients such as iron.
This means that, though
popular, you should stay away form products such as PK 14/15. These
have far too much phosphorus relative to potassium and can cause the
kind of phosphorus buildup that can wreak havoc on your plants.
Use Humates - Humates
such as Fulvic and Humic acid are a fantastic and fairly inexpensive
way to ensure uptake. These are materials that are found in natural,
fertile soil and when added to your nutrient solution, they can
chelate the materials into something that can provide true
bioavailability to your plants.
Generally, the key to
preventing nutrient deficiency is keep accurate measurements. If you
are able to frequently and accurately measure your nutrient
solution's conductivity, pH level, and temperature, you will be able
to react to less than ideal conditions before they create plant
deficiency.
Deficiencies
The
correct diagnosis of nutritional deficiencies is
important in maintaining optimum plant growth. The
recognition of these symptoms allows growers to
fine tune their nutritional regime as well as
minimize stress
conditions. However, the symptoms expressed are often
dependent on the species of plant growth, stage of
growth or other controlling factors. Therefore,
growers should become familiar with nutritional
deficiencies on
a crop-by-crop basis.
Record keeping and photographs are
excellent tools for assisting in the diagnosis of
nutrient deficiencies.
Photographs allow growers to compare symptoms to
previous situations in a step-by-step approach to
problem
solving. Accurate records help in establishing trends
as well as responses to corrective treatments.
Because plant symptoms can be very
subjective it is important to approach diagnosis
carefully. The following is
a general guideline to follow in recognizing the
response to nutrient deficiencies:
Nitrogen (N) - Restricted
growth of tops and roots especially lateral shoots.
Plants become spindly with general
chlorosis of entire plant to a light green and then a
yellowing of older leaves which proceeds toward
younger leaves.
Older leaves defoliate early.
Phosphorus (P) - Restricted
and spindly growth similar to that of nitrogen
deficiency. Leaf color is usually dull dark
green to bluish green with purpling of petioles and
the veins on underside of younger leaves. Younger
leaves may be
yellowish green with purple veins with N deficiency
and darker green with P deficiency. Otherwise, N and
P deficiencies
are very much alike.
Potassium (K) - Older leaves
show interveinal chlorosis and marginal necrotic spots
or scorching which progresses
inward and also upward toward younger leaves as deficiency becomes more
severe.
Calcium (Ca) - From slight
chlorosis to brown to black scorching of new leaf tips
and die- back of growing points. The
scorched and die-back portion of tissue is very slow
to dry so that it does not crumble easily. Boron
deficiency also
causes scorching of new leaf tips and die-back of
growing points, but calcium deficiency does not
promote the growth of lateral shoots and short internodes as does boron deficiency.
Magnesium (Mg) - Interveinal
chlorotic mottling or marbling of the older leaves
which proceeds toward the younger leaves
as the deficiency becomes more severe. The chlorotic
Interveinal yellow patches usually occur toward the
center of leaf
with the margins being the last to turn yellow. In
some crops, the interveinal yellow patches are
followed by necrotic spots
or patches and marginal scorching of the leaves.
Sulfur (S) - Resembles
nitrogen deficiency in that older leaves become
yellowish green and the stems thin, hard and woody.
Some plants show colorful orange and red tints rather
than yellowing. The stems, although hard and woody,
increase in length
but not in diameter.
Iron (Fe) - Starts with
interveinal chlorotic mottling of immature leaves and
in severe cases, the new leaves become completely
lacking in chlorophyl but with little or no necrotic
spots. The chlorotic mottling on immature leaves may
start first near the
bases of the leaflets so that in effect the middle of
the leaf appears to have a yellow streak.
Manganese (Mn) - Starts with
interveinal chlorotic mottling of immature leaves and
in many plants it is indistinguishable from
that of iron. On fruiting plants, the blossom buds
often do not fully develop and turn yellow or abort.
As the deficiency
becomes more severe, the new growth becomes
completely yellow, but in contrast to iron necrotic
spots usually appear in the
interveinal tissue.
Zinc (Zn) - In some plants,
the interveinal chlorotic mottling first appears on
the older leaves and in others, it appears on the
immature leaves. It eventually affects the growing
points of all plants. The interveinal chlorotic
mottling may be the same as that
for iron and manganese except for the development of
exceptionally small leaves. When zinc deficiency
onset is sudden such as
the zinc left out of the nutrient solution, the
chlorosis can appear identical to that of iron and
manganese without the little leaf.
Boron (B) - From slight
chlorosis to brown to black scorching of new leaf tips
and die- back of the growing points similar to calcium
deficiency. Also the brown and black die- back tissue
is very slow to dry so that it can be crumbled
easily. Both the pith and
epidermis of stems may be affected as exhibited by
hollow stems to roughened and cracked stems.
Copper (Cu) - Leaves at top
of the plant wilt easily followed by chlorotic and
necrotic areas in the leaves. Leaves on top half of
plant
may show unusual puckering with veinal chlorosis.
Absence of a knot on leaf where petiole joins the main
stem of plant beginning
about 10 or more leaves below growing point.
Molybdenum (Mo) - Older
leaves show interveinal chlorotic blotches, become
cupped and thickened. Chlorosis continues
upward to younger leaves as deficie
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