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Detection
Zinc deficiency will be apparent on sensitive crops shortly after emergence. Look for yellow or stunted plants in irregular patches that don't conform to previous field operation patterns. The transition or border between deficient and healthy plants is often abrupt. Yellow plants, caused by a high water table and its accompanying iron and manganese problems, are frequently mistaken for zinc deficiency. Water table problems will occur on easy to recognize low and wet sites. Usually, yellow stunted plants on these sites grade from healthy to sick plants over several yards. It is common for healthy and zinc deficient plants to grow within a few feet of each other.
The soil test for zinc deficiency is accurate and reliable. Sensitive crops respond to zinc on deficient sites when test levels drop below 1 ppm. Random sampling, as normally recommended for soil testing, does not always identify a zinc problem. The reason lies in the irregular nature of small zinc deficient sites. Random sampling can miss small sites in a field that are conspicuous and easy to see in a growing crop. Sample suspected fields as the crop grows.
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