Nutrients

Marijuana Horticulture

by Jorge Cervantes

Nutrients are elements that the plant needs to live. Carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen are absorbed from the air and water. the rest of the elements, called nutrients, are absorbed from the growing medium and nutrient solution. Supplemental nutrients supplied in the form of a fertilizer allow marijuana to reach its maximum potential. nutrients are grouped into three categories: macronutrients or primary nutrients, secondary nutrients, and micronutrients or trace elements. Each nutrient in the above categories ca further classified as either mobile or immobile.

Mobile nutrients – nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), and zinc (Zn) – are able to translocate, move from one portion of the plant to another as needed. For example, nitrogen accumulated in older leaves translocates to younger leaves to solve a deficiency. The result, deficiency symptoms appear on the older, lower leaves first.

Immobile nutrients – calcium (Ca), boron (B), chlorine (Cl), cobalt (C), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), molybendum (Mo), silicon (Si) and sulfur (S) – do not translocate to new growing areas as needed. They remain deposited in their original place in older leaves. This is the reason deficiency symptoms appear first in the upper, new leaves on top of the plant.

Mobile nutrients translocate within a plant. They move to the specific part of the plant where they are needed; this causes the older leaves to show deficiencies first.