All You Need To Know About Cannabis Nutrient Deficiencies

Cannabis plants need a healthy diet to put out the best yields possible. Nothing slows down plant growth faster than nutrient deficiency. The nutrient deficiencies can leave the plants vulnerable to attacks from pests and diseases.  

Understanding nutrient deficiencies and how to correct them can help improve cannabis plant health. If you’re looking for a secret to growing the best possible cannabis, you are at the right place. This article discusses everything about cannabis nutrient deficiencies and how to detect them. You will learn more about the best security and deficiencies in cannabis and tips to avoid these deficiencies.  

What are cannabis nutrient deficiencies? 

Nutrient deficiency occurs when the cannabis plant cannot access critical nutrients or minerals essential for healthy growth. The absence of a single essential nutrient for your plant can affect its yield or quality. In the worst-case scenario, a nutrient deficiency can threaten the survival of your plant.  

Cannabis plants require macronutrients and micronutrients. Macronutrients for cannabis are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, needed in high quantities. The plant uses these nutrients for primary biochemical processes during vegetative growth and banana. Micronutrients are also crucial for cellular biology to function well.  

For example, a nitrogen deficiency will cause the lower leaves to turn yellow and brown, wilt away and eventually die. Avoid nitrogen deficiency in the vegetative stage by ensuring the nutrients you feed your plants have a high-nitrogen level. If the pH level is low, the plant will struggle to absorb nitrogen. 

There is no secret to growing the best possible cannabis. You only need to follow the basic principles, such as keeping the plants in the right temperature and humidity range, suitable light, and nutrients at the correct pH. If your plant doesn’t get these basics, it’ll be stressed, resulting in reduced terpenes production and yield. 

What causes cannabis nutrient deficiency?

The most common cause of cannabis nutrient deficiency is improper pH levels. Even with correct nutrients, soil with the wrong pH prevents the roots from absorbing fuel. Your plant can have a nutrient deficiency even if you provide a balanced feed. The deficiency mainly occurs when the plant cannot absorb these nutrients at the root level.  

Nutrient absorption can only occur at the root level when you set the pH within a set range. For example, the cannabis plant grows best in a slightly acidic environment with 5.8 to 6.8 pH. The 6.3 pH midpoint is considered optimal for cannabis plant growth. If a growth medium becomes too acidic or alkaline, your plant will struggle to absorb the nutrients. 

Before identifying any other cause of cannabis nutrient deficiency, start by checking your pH. Ensure the pH is in the right region if you grow the plant in the soil or a similar medium. Many soils are naturally at the proper pH, but it’s always worth checking.  

When growing the plant, make sure you also test the pH levels of your water. The pH level of your nutrient-water solution plays a crucial role in keeping the plant healthy. Since the water pH continuously varies, check for the natural pH of the local water. At different times of the year, the pH can drift up and down slightly depending on rainfall and treatment levels. If you are a hydroponic grower, set the beach at around 6.0.  

Signs of an unhealthy cannabis plant

Cannabis plants can communicate many common deficiencies if you can interpret the signs. They use visual clues from leaves and general plant appearances to convey helpful information about nutrient deficiency. The leaves of a healthy plant should be clean and free of spots or any discoloration such as yellow between the leaf veins. The plant should also be steady with no apparent dropping. During harvesting, a healthy cannabis plant will have resinous buds.  

An abnormal or thick growth tip with brown-yellow spotting on new leaves is a sign of boron deficiency. If the leaves look pale and turn yellow, the plant suffers from nitrogen deficiency. Cannabis plants with phosphorus deficiency display dry leaves with areas of brown discoloration. The leaves may take a dark blue or green hue, appearing dark spots. The symptoms of potassium deficiency include curling leaves with brown and yellow colors on the tips and edges.  

Cannabis deficiency produces observable symptoms. Leaves with calcium deficiency well take unusual shapes and show yellow spots. Cannabis plants with the copper deficiency will have dark blue and purple undertones on the leaves. This deficiency also happens when you don’t adjust the pH level correctly. Sometimes the nutrient deficiency can kill the plant. 

How you can avoid cannabis nutrient deficiency

Luckily, you can identify and treat nutrient deficiency in your cannabis plants and encourage overall plant health. The most important solution is to look at the pH level of the nutrient water solution. There will be nutrient deficiency signs when the pH level is incorrect. In most cases, an incorrect pH level prevents the plant from absorbing certain nutrients. If you’re constantly feeding your plant with all the essential nutrients but it shows signs of a deficiency, look at the pH level.  

Another way to avoid nutrient problems is through air circulation, humidity, clean water, organic soil, adequately light, and regular maintenance. You can prevent deficiencies by using high-quality and professionally prepared soil. If the soil is correctly formulated, cannabis roots will have a large volume of nutrients to draw from, reducing the chances of deficiencies. Ensure the temperature is in range. You can also provide fertilizers with the correct nutrient requirements. 

When providing the nutrients, take caution not to give too many nutrients. Cannabis plants can show signs of nutrient toxicity if given too much of one nutrient that causes a nutrient lockout. For example, nitrogen toxicity occurs when the plant absorbs too much nitrogen. This toxicity will cause weak stems and overall low growth. The leaves of the cannabis plant will turn light brown then bronze-color if you give them too many nutrients.  

Bottom line

Every cannabis farmer wants to grow the healthiest cannabis plants with the highest yields possible. You can only achieve that by giving your plants the right balance of vital nutrients. Cannabis plants need the correct amount of essential nutrients to thrive. If the plant suffers cannabis nutrient deficiency, it’ll mean a severely compromised harvest. In the worst-case scenario, your plant may not survive the nutrient deficiency. A plant in good health can resist pests and diseases more than a plant compromised by poor nutrition.