Nutrient deficiencies in corn. Nitrogen (N) deficiency (pictures on front-page) causes pale, yellowish-green corn plants with spindly stalks. Because nitrogen is a mobile nutrient in the plant, symptoms begin on the older, lower leaves and progress up the plant if the deficiency persists.

What does a potassium deficiency in corn look like?

Potassium deficiency symptoms in corn appear first on the lower leaves because K is easily moved within the plant from older to younger leaves. Leaf symptoms are a yellowing to necrosis (tissue death) of the outer leaf margins. These symptoms begin at the leaf tip and progress down the margin toward the leaf base.

What nutrient is missing in corn?

Corn lacks nicotinic acid as well as tryptophan, a precursor that can be converted in the body to nicotinic acid. In underdeveloped countries, pellagra is still a common health problem. Even in the United States, pellagra was endemic until around 1940 in the South and in alcoholic populations.