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Re: Nutrient deficiencies and Stunted Growth




On Fri, 7 Apr 2000, Karen Randall wrote:

Quoting me:
 
> >It appears to me that this sort of stunted growth can't be diagnostic of
> >nitrogen deficiency.

Karen said:

> I don't think it _always_ is.  I think it _sometimes_ is.   I have also
> seen cases of stunted growth of slow growing species in strongly lit.high
> growth tanks where N&K were being supplemented regularly.

Sorry (to Karen and to Michael Rubin) about any misunderstanding.  I used
the word "diagnostic" in the sense of something that can be used alone as
a unique indicator of a specific problem.  Stunting might be used along
with other observations to indicate nitrogen (or other) deficiency but
stunting alone doesn't give that indication.

Is it possible that when Steve added nitrate to his tank that he added it
as potassium nitrate, and that the symptoms were alleviated by the
potassium rather than by the added nitrogen?

Ryan Mills started this thread back on Monday by asking if a lack of
nitrogen could cause deformed, stunted growth.  It's been 4 days since he
boosted his nitrate back to 5 ppm.  My past experience indicates that if
nitrogen were the problem then the response (in all but slow-growing
plants) should be obvious by now.  How's it looking?


Roger Miller
pleasantly at home on a Friday.