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Zinc shortage: new leaves stripe, internodes shrink

High phosphorus often hides zinc. Look at the newest growth.

Nutrient shortage
Speed
  1. Spray injury comes fast and matches the spray bout; zinc shortage creeps and returns year after year.
  2. Iron lock is mainly yellow between veins, internodes not always short; zinc shortage often brings little clustered leaves.
  3. Don’t treat white-bud as pesticide injury; don’t pour zinc every year.
  4. Foliar zinc sulphate (first aid): Commonly 0.1–0.2%. Maize seedlings: a small patch first, not at noon. Soil zinc is once in several years, not a yearly dump
  5. Name what you see before you feed.
  6. If leaves, roots and the surface disagree, stop.
  7. Zinc feeds the growing point.
  8. High phosphorus crowds the door.

What you see in the field

Interveinal yellow on new leaves, short internodes, little leaves clustered; maize white-bud is the type.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 “Herbicide injury”

    Spray injury comes fast and matches the spray bout; zinc shortage creeps and returns year after year.

  • Looks like “Iron-lock yellow new leaves”

    Iron lock is mainly yellow between veins, internodes not always short; zinc shortage often brings little clustered leaves.

Do this / don’t do that

  1. 1Interveinal yellow on new leaves, short internodes, little leaves clustered; maize white-bud is the type.
  2. 2Foliar zinc around 0.1–0.2%, small patch first. Soil zinc once in years from a test. Stop excess P.
  3. 3Don’t treat white-bud as pesticide injury. 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 white-bud as pesticide injury; don’t pour zinc every year.

Rate range

Foliar zinc sulphate (first aid)

Commonly 0.1–0.2%. Maize seedlings: a small patch first, not at noon

Soil zinc is once in several years, not a yearly dump.

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

Available zinc

Zinc the crop can use

Low: white seedlings, little leaves.

Available phosphorus

Whether something is crowding zinc out

When it is extremely high, cut phosphorus first.

When you see Interveinal yellow on new leaves, test. Take soil from the bad patch and from a greener neighbour, separately.

Lesson video

2026-03-10 · 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