Zinc deficiency (plant disorder)

Application of phosphorus fertilizers has frequently been associated with zinc deficiency; this may be due to enhanced sorption by clay minerals (especially iron oxides), suppression of vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizae and/or immobilization of zinc in plant tissues.

Zinc can also be supplied as a seed treatment, or by root-dipping of transplant seedlings.

Zinc deficiency increases membrane leakiness as zinc-containing enzymes are involved in the detoxification of membrane-damaging oxygen radicals.

Zinc may be involved in the control of gene expression; it appears important in stabilizing RNA and DNA structure, in maintaining the activity of DNA-synthesizing enzymes and in controlling the activity of RNA-degrading enzymes.

[7] Almost half of the world's cereal crops are grown on zinc-deficient soils; as a result, zinc deficiency in humans is a widespread problem.

Carbonic anhydrase, an enzyme that requires zinc (gray sphere in this image), is essential for plant health. [ 1 ]
Macadamia shoots showing zinc deficiency symptoms. The youngest leaves show chlorosis (yellowing), dwarfing and malformation.
Maize plants with severe zinc deficiency in the foreground, with healthier plants (planted at the same time) in the background.