Raspberry nutrient deficiency

BBC Gardeners' World Magazine

Published: Thursday, 11 April 2019 at 0:14 pm

Learn how to identify and treat nutrient deficiency in your raspberry plants.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Time to act

Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on pinterest
Share on whatsapp
Share on blogger
Email to a friend

For plants to successfully grow, flower and fruit they need nitrogen, potassium, phosphorous and different trace elements. Without one or more of these, plants will start to display physiological symptoms – low nitrogen causes weak, yellow leaves, while a potassium deficiency results in poor harvests and discoloured foliage. Trace elements include manganese and iron, and it's deficiencies of these that are most frequently encountered, resulting in yellow leaves and brown edges.

Symptoms

In summer, raspberries fail to thrive, the crop is poor and the leaves have a general unhealthy look.

Find it on

raspberries

Organic

Pelleted poultry manure gives a quick boost of nitrogen, while organic compost gives a longer-term solution. Add bonemeal if your raspberries are short of phosphorous. In general, if you've added plenty of well-rotted compost to the soil to improve moisture retention, drainage and soil structure, you're unlikely to have too many problems.

Chemical

Add sulphate of ammonia for nitrogen deficiency. Sulphate of potash cures potassium deficiency. For low phosphorous levels, apply super-phosphates. Top up manganese levels with iron chelate and use Epsom salts to tackle magnesium deficiency.