Effect of Nutrient Deficiency on Growth of <I>Cymbidium</I> ‘Super Freak’.

Abstract

Effect of mineral nutrient deficiency on growth and deficiency symptoms were studied in Cymbidium ‘Super Freak’. The plants were grown in pine bark and supplied with six treatments of nutrient solutions i.e. T1) the solution consisted of complete essential elements (control), treatment 2-6: the solution lacked of N, P, K, Ca and Mg, respectively. The result showed that nitrogen-deficient  treatment gave the lowest plant height, shrub width, leaf length, number of leaves per plant and number of leaves per cluster. Moreover, visible symptoms were dwarfishness, leaves were yellowish  green and gradually turns into yellow. In P-deficiency treatment, leaves were small, leaf surface was not shiny and old leaves turned into dark green color. In K-deficiency treatment, the symptoms were bending leaves, chlorosis of leaf apex and yellowish green. In Ca-deficiency treatment, the symptoms were the same as in K-deficiency but leaves were more dark green than K-deficiency treatment. The Mg-deficiency treatment showed yellowish green in both young and old leaves, bending of leaves and chlorosis of leaf apex.