Carrots - Growth retardation
Symptoms
Root growth of phosphorus deficient plants is severely stunted.
Causes
Phosphorus deficiency (right)
Visual deficiency symptoms on cabbage leaves are rarely observed in the field.
Phosphorus deficiency vs. healthy plant made worse by
- Acidic or very alkaline (calcareaus) soils
- Low organic matter
- Cold or wet conditions
- Crops with a poorly developed root system
- Soils with low P reserves
- Soils with a high phosphate capacity
- Iron rich soils
Phosphorus is important for
- Energy storage and transfer
- Nucleic acid formation
- Protein synthesis
- Cell membrane component
- Carbohydrate metabolism
