Nitrogen deficiency

A young cabbage plant exhibiting nitrogen deficiency.
A young cabbage plant exhibiting nitrogen deficiency.

Nitrogen deficiency is a deficiency of nitrogen in plants. This can occur when organic matter with high carbon content, such as sawdust, is added to soil.[1] Soil organisms use any nitrogen available to break down carbon sources, making nitrogen unavailable to plants.[1] This is known as "robbing" the soil of nitrogen. All vegetables apart from nitrogen fixing legumes are prone to this disorder.

Nitrogen deficiency can be prevented by using grass mowings as a mulch or foliar feeding with manure. Sowing green manure crops such as grazing rye to cover soil over the winter will help to prevent nitrogen leaching, while leguminous green manures such as winter tares will fix additional nitrogen from the atmosphere.

Moreover, poor irrigation system in the field can lead to loss of nitrogen in plants as stagnant water in the field will cause the nitrogen to evaporate in the air.[2]

  1. ^ a b "Compost Fundamentals: Compost Needs - Carbon Nitrogen Relationships". Archived from the original on 2023-02-02. Retrieved 2011-01-04.
  2. ^ "Nitrogen Deficiency in plants Effect and Solution". Ali Agro Chemicals Pvt Ltd (in American English and Urdu). Pakistan. 2022-12-18. Retrieved 2023-09-16.