Citrus - Chlorosis
Symptoms
The older leaves are pale green to yellow and abscise. The life of a leaf can be shortened from 1-3 years to 6 months. The leaf veins have a clear colour tending to white.
Reasons
Nitrogen deficiency
Sulfur deficiency causes similar symptoms, but it begins at the younger leaves and the veins are usually green.
Nitrogen deficiency on orange made worse by
- Low or high pH soils
- Sandy or light soils (leaching
- ) Low organic matter
- Drought conditions
- High rainfall (leaching) or heavy irrigation
- Addition or high levels of non-decomposed organic matter/manure (eg straw)
- Fast growing crops
Nitrogen is important for
- Foliage lusher and greener
- Shoot growth vigour increased
- Fruit set/crop load increased
- Yield is increased
- Juice quantity and quality improved (acidity and soluble solids increased)
