Potassium and Phosphorus Deficiency Symptoms of Ixora

Abstract

Ixoras (Ixora L.) growing in calcareous sandy soils are highly susceptible to a reddish leaf spot disorder. Symptoms appear on the oldest leaves of a shoot and consist of irregular diffuse brownish-red blotches on slightly chlorotic leaves. Symptoms of K deficiency, P deficiency, and both K and P deficiency were induced in container-grown Ixora `Nora Grant' by withholding the appropriate element from the fertilization regime. Potassium-deficient ixoras showed sharply delimited necrotic spotting on the oldest leaves, were stunted in overall size, and retained fewer leaves per shoot than control plants. Phosphorus-deficient plants showed no spotting, but had uniformly brownish-red older leaves and olive-green younger foliage. Plants deficient in both elements displayed symptoms similar to those observed on landscape plants. Symptomatic experimental and landscape ixoras all had low foliar concentrations of both K and P.