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Help! Hydroponic tomato deficiency
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Posted by jamesvlad (My Page) on Wed, Aug 18, 10 at 14:21
| Hello everyone. I have a hydroponic tomato, but it seems to have a deficiency that I can´t identify...maybe someone can help me.
The nutrient solution composition is:
N 181
P 51
K 267
Ca 123
Mg 42
S 42
using tap water (about 40 ppm of calcium) phosphoric acid as phosphorus source, and some sulfuric acid to adjust pH.
and micronutrients (Fe, Cu , Zn, B, Mo, Mn) but I´m not sure about the concentrations
This is the picture |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Help! Hydroponic tomato deficiency
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| Sorry!! This is the link of the picture: http://www.flickr.com/photos/25020806@N08/4904706243/ By the way...do you know how to insert images in this forum? Thanks in advance! |
RE: Help! Hydroponic tomato deficiency
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| What is the picture? I see no picture. I assume your N is NO3? Note that things other than deficiencies can cause problems. Last year I had a problem with tom survival, and after a lot of experimentation, I determined that it was a phytotoxic reaction to the insecticidal soap I was spraying. |
RE: Help! Hydroponic tomato deficiency (2)
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| Ah, I see you fixed it. You add images with <img src="http://YOUR_URL"> |
RE: Help! Hydroponic tomato deficiency
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| Thank you karenkei. Yes my N is NO3 only (Ca(NO3)2, KNO3 and NaNO3, HNO3). I use only the nutrient solution, no more things. This is the image: 
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RE: Help! Hydroponic tomato deficiency
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| Hello Jamesvlad, I once had similarly looking plants when doing some experiments with hydrogen carbonate ion concentrations. If you can indeed provide all your 51 ppm of P as phosphoric acid and then you need to add sulfuric acid on top of that to reach a pH around 5.5-6.5 then the problem might be an excess amount of carbonate in your water. The lack of any chlorosis suggests that there are no micro nutrient or N deficiencies but the leaf deformation and the similar appearance when compared with my experiment plus your description makes me believe that this is the problem. I would suggest you prepare your solution with RO or distilled water from now on and share your results with us once you do this. I hope this helps ! Best Regards, Daniel |
RE: Help! Hydroponic tomato deficiency
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| Thank you danielfp. Again, you´re right. The hydrogen carbonate concentrations is high. I´ve been using distilled water, and the toxicity is disappearing. The leaf are returning to normal, I´m going to take another photo and insert the picture in two or three days. |
RE: Help! Hydroponic tomato deficiency
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| 10 days ago I changed the nutrient solution (without bicarbonate), I now this is the result:
As you can see, the tomato is returning to normal. So, for anyone who may have the same problem: the excess of bicarbonate ion could be the problem. Thanks again danielfp and karenkei. |
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