Potassium deficiency — Maize

Symptoms

Characteristic symptom: Yellowing and scorching along older leaf margins Plants become stunted, with short internodes and thin stems. Symptoms appear first on older, lower leaves; younger leaves often remain green initially. Yellowing starts at the leaf tip and spreads along both margins towards the base. The yellow margins gradually turn brown, dry and scorched. In affected leaves, the central midrib and much of the inner leaf tissue may remain green while the edges die. Severe deficiency may cause reddish strips on the lower stem and leaf sheaths. Ears become small and pointed, with poorly filled kernels at the tip.