Seedling fertiliser burn: they come up already scorching
Black root tips at emergence are a burn, not ‘not enough food’.
- Patchy emergence, scorched baby leaves, black root tips.
- Fertilizer against the seed is the usual story.
- Poor seed also misses plants, but root tips may not be brown, and the next furrow without starter comes up even.
- Damping-off has lesions and wet; fertiliser burn lines the furrow.
- Don’t fertilise a burn; don’t treat a burn as a disease.
- Keep starter off the seed: A few centimetres to the side and down. Don’t dress the seed with it
- Name what you see before you feed.
- If leaves, roots and the surface disagree, stop.
What you see in the field
Patchy emergence, scorched baby leaves, black root tips. Fertilizer against the seed is the usual story.Ask what was applied, and how much. Injury in a line with granules in the seed furrow matches this page. Scattered patches look more like disease. Do not stack another bag.
Tap to enlarge. The caption says what to photograph. Missing field photos are marked as to-be-added.
Why it looks like this
The field looks like this because the root cannot take water or nutrients the usual way. Fix the soil condition first — drainage, salt, acidity, compaction or a salt of fertiliser — then a thin feed. Rates live in the range on this page; confirm with a local station and the label.
Easy to mix up
Looks like “Poor seed”
Poor seed also misses plants, but root tips may not be brown, and the next furrow without starter comes up even.
Looks like “Damping-off”
Damping-off has lesions and wet; fertiliser burn lines the furrow.
Do this / don’t do that
- 1Compare the worst plants with a neighbour ridge. Photograph whole plant, close-up and soil surface before you add fertiliser.
- 2Match roots, leaves and the soil surface to this guide. If they do not line up, do not copy a bag count.
- 3Use the rate range on this page only as a range. Confirm with a local station and the product label.
Don’t do this first
- Don’t fertilise a burn; don’t treat a burn as a disease.
Rate range
Keep starter off the seed
A few centimetres to the side and down
Don’t dress the seed with it.
Starter rate
The labelled lower rate
On sand, a little less still.
These are ranges. Confirm with your local extension station and the product label.
How soon after a spray or a feed it showed
A 1–3 day burst looks more like spray injury / fertiliser burn.
When you see Patchy emergence, test. If the leaf and the soil disagree, test before you pour.
Lesson video
2026-03-13 · Li Zeyu · For learning. Serious damage: local agronomist or a soil test.
For learning only. Fertiliser and pesticide decisions need a local agronomist and a soil test.
Not sure? Photograph the field to identify the problem