Soil Nutrients are classified into two categories: Macro and Micro Nutrients. Soil Macro Nutrients include carbon, Hydrogen, oxygen, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, calcium, magnesium and sulfur. While MicroNutrients Includes Iron, Copper, Zinc, Boron, Molybdenum, Manganese and Chlorine. Details are Given Below

Micro and Macro soil nutrients Their Functions and symptoms

Soil Macronutrients	Soil Micronutrients
Nutrients are required by the plant in relatively large amounts called Macronutrients	Soil Nutrients are required only in small amounts Called Micronutrients
Non-mineral elements carbon (C) hydrogen (H)oxygen (O) Primary Soil Nutrients Nitrogen (N) Phosphorus (P) Potassium (K) Secondary Soil Nutrients calcium (Ca) magnesium (Mg) sulfur (S)	Iron (Fe) Copper (Cu) Zinc (Zn) Boron (B) Molybdenum (Mo) Manganese (Mn) Chlorine (Cl)

Functions and symptoms of Nutrients

Nitrogen Roles and Deficiency symptoms

Roles of Nitrogen

• Promotes growth of leaves and stems
• Gives dark green colour and improves the quality of the foliage
• Necessary to develop cell proteins and chlorophyll

Deficiency symptoms of Nitrogen

• Sick, yellow-green colour
• short stems, small leaves, pale coloured leaves and flowers
• slow and dwarfed plant growth

Phosphorus Roles and Deficiency symptoms

Roles of Phosphorus

• Stimulates early formation and growth of roots
• Provides for fast and vigorous growth and speeds maturity
• Stimulates flowering and seed development
• Necessary for the enzyme action of many plant processes

Deficiency symptoms of Phosphorus

• Decrease in growth
• Slow maturity
• Older leaves are a purplish colour

Potassium Roles and Deficiency symptoms

Roles of Potassium

• Used to form carbohydrates and proteins
• Formation and transfer of starches, sugars and oils
• Increases disease resistance, vigour and hardiness

Deficiency symptoms of Potassium

• Mottled, spotted, streaked or curled leaves
• Scorched, burned, dead leaf tips and margins

Calcium Roles and Deficiency symptoms

Roles of

• Improves plant vigour
• Influences intake and synthesis of other plant nutrients
• An important part of cell walls

Deficiency symptoms of Calcium

• small developing leaves
• wrinkled older leaves
• dead stem tips

Magnesium Roles and Deficiency symptoms

Roles of Magnesium

• Influences the intake of other essential nutrients
• Helps make fats
• Assists in the translocation of phosphorus and fats

Deficiency symptoms of Magnesium

• Interveinal chlorosis-yellowing of leaves between green veins
• leaf tips curl or cup upward
• slender, weak stalks

Sulfur Roles and Deficiency symptoms

Roles of Sulfur

• Promotes root growth and vigorous
  vegetative growth
• Essential to protein formation

Deficiency symptoms of Sulfur

•  Young leaves are light green with lighter
  colour veins
• Yellow leaves and stunted growth

Iron Roles and Deficiency symptoms

Roles of Iron

•  Essential for chlorophyll production
•  Help carry electrons to mix oxygen with
  other elements

Deficiency symptoms of Iron

• Mottled and interveinal chlorosis in young
  leaves
• Stunted growth and slender, short stems

Copper Roles and Deficiency symptoms

Roles of Copper

• Helps in the use of Iron
• Helps respiration

Deficiency symptoms of Copper

• Young leaves are small and permanently
  wilt
• Multiple buds at stem tip

Zinc Roles and Deficiency symptoms

Roles of Zinc

• Plant metabolism
• Helps form growth hormones
• Reproduction

Deficiency symptoms of Zinc

• Retarded growth between nodes (rosette)
• New leaves are thick and small
• Spotted between veins, discoloured veins

Boron Roles and Deficiency symptoms

Roles of Boron

• Affects water absorption by roots
• Translocation of sugars

Deficiency Symptom of Boron

• Short, thick stem tips
• young leaves of terminal buds are light
  green at base
• leaves become twisted and die

Manganese Roles and Deficiency symptoms

Roles of Manganese

• Plant metabolism

• Nitrogen transformation

Deficiency symptoms of Manganese

• Interveinal chlorosis
• Young leaves die

Molybdenum Roles and Deficiency symptoms

Roles of Molybdenum

• Plant development
• Reproduction

Deficiency symptoms of Molybdenum

• Stunted growth
• Yellow leaves, upward curling leaves, leaf
  margins burn

Chlorine Roles and Deficiency symptoms

Roles of Chlorine

• Essential to some plant processes
• Acts in enzyme systems

Deficiency symptoms of Chlorine

• Usually more problems with too much
  Chlorine or toxicity than with deficiency

Learn More

1. Soil Science One-Liner Questions for Agriculture Jobs 
2. Role of Silicon in alleviating biotic & abiotic stresses in plants
3. Vermicompost application for enhancement of soil fertility and to reduce environmental pollution 
4. Role of Legume Crops in Soil improvement

 3,052 Views