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Sulfur shortage: the whole plant yellows, including new leaves

Unlike nitrogen, the new growth yellows too.

Nutrient shortage
Speed
  1. Nitrogen shortage yellows old leaves first, heart leaves still green; sulphur yellows the heart leaves too.
  2. Iron lock keeps the veins green; sulphur fades the veins as well.
  3. Don’t treat it as nitrogen and pour urea; urea has no sulphur and makes the picture worse.
  4. A sulphur fertiliser (after sulphur is confirmed): Sulphur with the basal or a top-dress, follow a soil test. Sand: split. Don’t paste seedlings with sulphur
  5. Name what you see before you feed.
  6. If leaves, roots and the surface disagree, stop.
  7. Sulphur does not move from old leaves to new.
  8. Nitrogen yellows old leaves first; sulphur yellows new and old together.

What you see in the field

The whole plant pales, including new leaves — the opposite of nitrogen’s old-leaf yellow.First the leaf position: new or old, even yellow or between the veins. If that does not match, do not fertilise yet. Pull one plant and read whether the roots are white, brown or foul.

A sketch. Do not fertilise from the picture alone.

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 “Nitrogen shortage”

    Nitrogen shortage yellows old leaves first, heart leaves still green; sulphur yellows the heart leaves too.

  • Looks like “Iron lock”

    Iron lock keeps the veins green; sulphur fades the veins as well.

Do this / don’t do that

  1. 1The whole plant pales, including new leaves — the opposite of nitrogen’s old-leaf yellow.
  2. 2Read leaf position. Test sulphur or check whether fertiliser has been sulphur-free for years. Sulphate sources via extension, better too little.
  3. 3Don’t treat it as nitrogen and pour urea. Use the range on this page only as a range. Confirm with a local station and the product label.

Don’t do this first

  • Don’t treat it as nitrogen and pour urea; urea has no sulphur and makes the picture worse.

Rate range

A sulphur fertiliser (after sulphur is confirmed)

Sulphur with the basal or a top-dress, follow a soil test. Sand: split

Don’t paste seedlings with sulphur.

These are ranges. Confirm with your local extension station and the product label.

Available sulphur

When new leaves yellow too, look here

Sand often runs low.

Organic matter

The sulphur store

Low, and it will not stay.

When you see The whole plant pales, test. Take soil from the bad patch and from a greener neighbour, separately.

Lesson video

2026-03-05 · 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