How we understand if plants are fed enough? What are the symptoms of a poorly fertilized plant?
One of the symptoms that the plant shows if it has a deficiency or lack of nutrients (mineral salts) is the yellowing of the leaves, scientifically named “Chlorosis”, that means “lack of green color” . This symptom is especially in relation to the lack of nitrogen, one of the most useful elements for the plant, such as nitrogenous salt, especially to stimulate vegetation: production of leaves and foliage.
Its deficiency manifests itself in the area of the leaf between the veins. The technical term is “interveinal chlorosis”, that is, yellowing of the leaf blade, with the exception of the veins which remain dark green.
What about a plant excessively fertilized?
The most frequent thing observed in an overly fertilized plant is that it stop to grow, moreover, shoots and leaves became dark green. But the organ that will most clearly confirm whether it is an excess of nourishment are the roots. The presence of dark, brown, sometimes even rotting roots is a symptom of excessive, too high fertilization. The white, clear root is always a certainty of health and balanced fertilization. The brown root may instead be due to too much fertilizer or fungal diseases. The two problems are often connected: an excess of fertilization, especially nitrogen, which favors rapid development, causes plant tissues to be softer and therefore more very weak, sensitive to fungal diseases.
What to do?
It is certainly simpler to solve the problem of deficiency than the excess: once the cause of the deficiency has been identified and confirmed, if it is not too late, i.e. if the deficiency has not occurred for too long, we proceed to fertilize with soluble fertilizers, which can be readily assimilated by the plants. Excess fertilization, on the other hand, is much more difficult and above all slower in the solution: it will be necessary to water with fertilizer-free water until we observe the recovery of vegetation, the opening of new shoots and the appearance of white root tips.
