COPPER

Classified as a micronutrient, only a small amount of this essential nutrient is needed for plant survival.

Immobility

Copper is the most immobile of the micronutrients.

Copper Hunger

Many vegetable crops show Cu hunger, with leaves that lose turgor and develop a bluish-green shade before becoming chlorotic and curling.

Chlorophyll Formation

Copper is necessary to chlorophyll formation in plants and catalyzes several other plant reactions.

Influences From Other Metals

Other metals in the soil, such as iron, manganese and aluminum, affect the availability of Cu for plant growth.

Types of Soils

Organic soils are the most vulnerable to Cu deficiency; heavy, clay-type soils are least vulnerable.

Copper deficiency symptoms

Symptoms of deficiency can vary across crop species, but similarities exist for how nutrient insufficiency impacts plant tissue color and appearance. Nutrient deficiencies are commonly associated with the physical location on the plant (i.e., whether the symptoms are primarily observed on older versus newly formed plant tissue), but these symptoms can spread as the severity of the deficiency progresses.