Calcium Deficiency on Calcareous Soil?

[cbss_daviefl]

Locally, FL Nursery Mart on Griffin and Palm (Nob Hill) carries 10 pound bags of granular 0-0-50 sulfate of potash for $11 but I have not been there for a long time.  I see no need to go to a place that charges $50 for a 3gal Jakfruit tree.  The website shows it in stock. http://www.flnurserymart.com/products/fertilizers/sulfate-of-potash/

I have been using 8-2-12-4 as my general fertilizer at Har's recommendation.  I get it from Howard Fertilizer.  It seems like it is doing a better job than the 8-3-9-3 Diamond R stuff. Lower P, higher K and Mg and lots of other goodies, slower release.   I am too lazy(stupid) to send soil off for analysis. Maybe I will next month. 

[Mark in Texas]

Locally, FL Nursery Mart on Griffin and Palm (Nob Hill) carries 10 pound bags of granular 0-0-50 sulfate of potash for $11 but I have not been there for a long time.  I see no need to go to a place that charges $50 for a 3gal Jakfruit tree.  The website shows it in stock. http://www.flnurserymart.com/products/fertilizers/sulfate-of-potash/

I have been using 8-2-12-4 as my general fertilizer at Har's recommendation.  I get it from Howard Fertilizer.  It seems like it is doing a better job than the 8-3-9-3 Diamond R stuff. Lower P, higher K and Mg and lots of other goodies, slower release.   I am too lazy(stupid) to send soil off for analysis. Maybe I will next month.

You're still guessing with a soil sample, too many factors at play.  Tissue analysis removes all doubt.

[greenman62]

OK. I used both sulfur and K at the same time.

This tree is in about a foot of mulch / compost :-).

Excess K causes Ca, Mg and Bo to be difficult to uptake as these are antagonistic nutrients. I think it causes alkalinity so a second raft of nutrient may so harder to absorb, Sulphur to correct would make the Ca and Mg uptake worse and even cause Mo deficiency and so there is a cycle. the leaf could be Mg deficient with other things going on. Lots of mulch might help.

just an FYI, epsom is magnesium sulfate if i remember right
which means you would be adding more sulfur, changing the PH.

Manganese ?
Manganese deficiency is very common for plants grown in alkaline soils.
http://hort.ufl.edu/database/nutdef/report07_Mn-D.shtml

First of all Calcium toxicity is hard to diagnose and it is almost impossible to do from just observing the leafs but you can observe calcium toxicity by getting signs of Magnesium, Potassium and Manganese deficiency as too much calcium will lock out these three elements and in some cases you can also get Iron deficiency symptoms.
http://www.autoflowering-cannabis.com/secondary-nutrients-calcium-magnesium-sulfur-for-cannabis/

[Cookie Monster]

The P is all from tree trimmer mulch -- about a decade and 1000+ cubic yards worth. I don't use phosphate fertilizers of any kind on the mulched lot.

I'm skeptical on the Fe / Zn deficiency theory. Carambola tend to be quick to display fe / zn deficiencies, and the carambola that is just a few feet away has beautiful dark green leaves. In fact, the jackfruit is the only tree of 40+ on this lot that is has chlorotic leaves.

I do see that P competes with Cu and Zn, and that's the reason why Cu is shown as "low" in the soil test report. Spectrum runs the ppm numbers through a series of calculations to arrive at their high / medium / low figures and formulate recommendations.

Tell ya what's causing a lock out of your ultra high Fe and Zn, it's the super high phosphorous.  Where did that come from, organics?  Phosphorous is one of the most overused, abused macros there is and when in excess will induce a micro deficiency. Even with turf I'm using low P foods like 35-5-10 or 20-3-19.  Can't find it now but there used to be an excellent chart on the subject of nutrient antagonism.

[Cookie Monster]

That's pretty pricey :-). Helena has the powdered version for like $15 per 50 pound bag. I preferred the granular version, which is far easier to spread, but it's hard to find here anymore. All of the suppliers have gone towards k-mag.

Locally, FL Nursery Mart on Griffin and Palm (Nob Hill) carries 10 pound bags of granular 0-0-50 sulfate of potash for $11 but I have not been there for a long time.  I see no need to go to a place that charges $50 for a 3gal Jakfruit tree.  The website shows it in stock. http://www.flnurserymart.com/products/fertilizers/sulfate-of-potash/

I have been using 8-2-12-4 as my general fertilizer at Har's recommendation.  I get it from Howard Fertilizer.  It seems like it is doing a better job than the 8-3-9-3 Diamond R stuff. Lower P, higher K and Mg and lots of other goodies, slower release.   I am too lazy(stupid) to send soil off for analysis. Maybe I will next month.

[Cookie Monster]

Soil samples from several locations in the yard are great to get a general idea of what's lacking, what's high, ph, etc. It's a valuable tool. For example, based on my soil test, I know that I can use a high-cu containing fungicide and that I don't need Fe, Zn, or P. I can target my fertilization routine based on the results of the soil assay vs blindly throwing down a general mix. If I see one particular tree that is showing a deficiency that is not present in the others, then I can dig deeper and get a tissue analysis.

Soil analysis is akin to the nutrient analysis on a food product. Though the analysis on the package label can't tell you how much of each nutrient will actually be found in the bloodstream after consumption (due to myriad factors such as fiber content, gut bacteria, etc), it's still a valuable tool when analyzing food products.

Locally, FL Nursery Mart on Griffin and Palm (Nob Hill) carries 10 pound bags of granular 0-0-50 sulfate of potash for $11 but I have not been there for a long time.  I see no need to go to a place that charges $50 for a 3gal Jakfruit tree.  The website shows it in stock. http://www.flnurserymart.com/products/fertilizers/sulfate-of-potash/

I have been using 8-2-12-4 as my general fertilizer at Har's recommendation.  I get it from Howard Fertilizer.  It seems like it is doing a better job than the 8-3-9-3 Diamond R stuff. Lower P, higher K and Mg and lots of other goodies, slower release.   I am too lazy(stupid) to send soil off for analysis. Maybe I will next month.

You're still guessing with a soil sample, too many factors at play.  Tissue analysis removes all doubt.

[Mark in Texas]

[quote author=Cookie Monster link=topic=20260.msg250560#msg250560 date=1464916539If I see one particular tree that is showing a deficiency that is not present in the others, then I can dig deeper and get a tissue analysis.
[/quote]

IF you think there isn't a nutrient antagonism thingie going on then it's got to be the rootstock and its ability to uptake certain salts.  I mean, one has it the other doesn't.  Is the condition bad enough to where photosynthesis is compromised?  If not, I wouldn't worry about it. Again, a tissue analysis is the only way you're gonna get a handle on this tree.