Kabby

I have recently noticed very pale leaves emerging from my Ice Cream banana. After wracking my brain that I have seen this happen before w/ other plants I'm wondering if I have an iron deficiency? I've noted on other threads that Mir Acid has been used on their plants, this is the very remedy that I have used too for my iron deficient plants. I use composted chicken poo as a fertilizer. Thanks for any and all help.

bigdog

Kabby,

Hard to say for certain what type of deficiency you are dealing with, because a lot of them show very similar symoptoms. Before you start applying any Iron products, be sure to do a pH test on your soil. It is very easy to apply too much Iron, which can be serious. Since it is showing in the newer leaves, you can at least narrow it down to elements that are immobile, or mostly immobile, in plant tissues. Copper is another immobile element, as well as Boron. Yours looks more like an Iron problem than the other two, but I am ceratinly no expert on the subject! One way to tell for sure is to take a few soil samples from the area and send them off to your state ag extension office/service. They can test the soil for you to tell you what the pH is, as well as do a nutrient analysis for the soil. Yet another thing you could do to find out positively what the problem is, is to take a tissue sample from an affected leaf, and send that in for analysis.

pitangadiego

You might add something like Citrus Growers Mix to cover the trace elements that might be lacking. Does wonders in my poor and varied soils.

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Kabby

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I'll have to put in a search for the Citrus Growers Mix.

funsocaltiger

Check out this link. There is a short quiz you fill out with your symptoms and at the end it lists the symptoms of common mineral deficiencies.

http://dynamiteplantfood.com/nutrientassessment.jsp

As a side note I like to supplement my fertilizer schedule with epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) as I believe most fertilizers do not contain enough.

Laurence

funsocaltiger

I also just found this which seems even more comprehensive:
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/g...s/diagnos.html

Laurence

Kabby

Hi all, I just wanted to update the progress of my Ice Cream banana. I had MirAcid readily available and I have used 2 applications since posting the first photos. No further chlorotic leaves, although it did take a few weeks to see some results. I still intend to get some of the Citrus growers Mix that Pitanga recommended. Will have that ready for next yr.