Every nutrient a crop eats, and why the shortest one decides the harvest.

Nitrogen builds protein and chlorophyll. It decides how much leaf the crop grows and how green the leaf is, and the leaf is the factory that makes the grain.

When it is short

Older leaves turn pale yellow first, from the tip back, because the plant moves nitrogen out of old leaves into new ones. Plants stay small and thin. Grain has less protein.

Works with, and against

Nitrogen needs sulfur to become protein. A crop short of sulfur cannot use the nitrogen it is given, and the unused nitrogen leaves the field. Nitrogen also needs potash: nitrogen grows the leaf, potash moves the sugar out of it. Nitrogen without potash gives soft, tall growth that falls over.

On Pakistani ground

Nitrogen is the nutrient Pakistan applies most and keeps least. This site’s national pages set out where the applied nitrogen goes. Sulfur coated urea releases it over weeks, so more of it meets a root.

VAN carries it in

Vital UreaSCU. N 32% · S 13%Cala-Mag VN 10% · Ca 6% · Mg 4% · B 1%VL-NPKLiquid 8-8-6 w/v. N8 · P8 · K6

Phosphorus carries energy inside the plant and builds the root. It decides how fast a seedling puts down roots, how many tillers wheat makes, and how well the crop sets and fills.

When it is short

Slow, dark green seedlings, sometimes with a purple tint on the older leaves and stems. Fewer tillers, late flowering, small heads. Most of the damage is done in the first weeks and cannot be undone later.

Works with, and against

Phosphorus and zinc pull against each other. A heavy dose of phosphate on a soil already low in zinc makes the zinc shortage worse. Phosphorus needs calcium in the plant but is locked by calcium in the soil, which is the whole problem on Pakistani ground.

On Pakistani ground

69.1% of 770,160 Punjab samples read above pH 8, and calcareous soil at that pH locks applied phosphate before the root reaches it. Read as elemental P, 35 of 36 districts land Critical or Weak. The Soil Atlas shows your district.

VAN carries it in

Green Phosphate6-32-0 · humic-coated acidic. The NP Range 6-32 gradeV. Ammonium Phosphate10-44-0 + Fe·Mn·CuFusion PhosphateTSP. P₂O₅ 46%V-Germinator ProLiquid P 27% + N 4.5 · K 2 · Mg · S · Fe

Potash runs the plant’s plumbing. It opens and closes the pores in the leaf, moves sugar from the leaf to the grain, tuber or fruit, and thickens the cell wall. It is the nutrient of quality, weight and stress: heat, drought and disease all hit a potash-short crop harder.

When it is short

Older leaves scorch along the edge and the tip while the middle stays green. Stems are weak, the crop lodges, grain is light, fruit is small and stores badly.

Works with, and against

Potash works with nitrogen: nitrogen grows the leaf, potash fills the grain from it. Too much potash pushes out magnesium and calcium, so the 3 are dosed together, never 1 alone.

On Pakistani ground

The Crop Force bag prints the national figure: only 1% of all nutrient applied in Pakistan is potash. VAN’s wheat balance page shows what 60 maunds an acre takes off the field in potash when the bhusa is removed.

VAN carries it in

Vital PotashN 11 · K₂O 44. Coated with boron in 2 formsFusion Potash2-0-50 + S 1.5% · B 1% · Mg 1% · 2 formsV-Potash Plus10-0-40 + Mg · B · chelated FeSOPK₂O 50% · S 17.5%. Soil & fertigationVL-Potash LiquidK 30% · foliar / fertigation

Calcium is the cement of the cell wall and the tip of every growing point. It does not move inside the plant once it is placed, so the crop needs a steady supply while it grows, especially where fruit and tubers are forming.

When it is short

The youngest tissue fails first: burnt tips on new leaves, blossom end rot on tomato, bitter pit on apple, hollow heart in potato. Old leaves look fine.

Works with, and against

Calcium and boron work together to build the wall, and boron is needed for calcium to move to the growing point. Too much potash or magnesium in the soil crowds calcium out at the root.

On Pakistani ground

Pakistani soil is full of calcium as lime. The plant can still run short, because calcium in lime and calcium the root can drink are 2 different things, and because a heavy potash dose blocks it.

VAN carries it in

Cala-Mag VN 10% · Ca 6% · Mg 4% · B 1%

Magnesium sits at the centre of every chlorophyll molecule. No magnesium, no green, no sugar. It also helps the plant move phosphorus around.

When it is short

Older leaves go yellow between the veins while the veins stay green, giving a striped or marbled look. Starts low on the plant and moves up.

Works with, and against

Magnesium is pushed out by too much potash and by too much calcium. A programme that raises potash without magnesium often shows magnesium shortage the same season.

VAN carries it in

V-Mag EssentialMg 8.5% · B 1% powderCala-Mag VN 10% · Ca 6% · Mg 4% · B 1%V-Potash Plus10-0-40 + Mg · B · chelated FeFusion Potash2-0-50 + S 1.5% · B 1% · Mg 1% · 2 forms

Sulfur is in 3 of the amino acids the plant builds protein from, and in the oils of canola, mustard and sesame. It is the nutrient that turns applied nitrogen into grain protein.

When it is short

Young leaves go pale yellow all over, the opposite of nitrogen, which starts with the old leaves. Plants are thin and slow. Oilseeds give less oil.

Works with, and against

Sulfur and nitrogen work as a pair, and without the sulfur the extra nitrogen goes to waste. Elemental sulfur also acidifies the soil around a granule, which frees locked phosphate and zinc there.

On Pakistani ground

Sulfur is not a parameter on VAN’s soil report, so the Soil Atlas cannot show it. This site does not claim a national sulfur figure, because none exists on the public record.

VAN carries it in

Green SulfurSulfur 70% WDGVital UreaSCU. N 32% · S 13%SOPK₂O 50% · S 17.5%. Soil & fertigationFusion Potash2-0-50 + S 1.5% · B 1% · Mg 1% · 2 forms

Zinc makes the growth hormone that lengthens the stem and the enzymes that build protein. It decides plant height, leaf size and, in rice and wheat, grain set.

When it is short

Young leaves come out small, narrow and yellow between the veins. Short internodes make the plant look bunched. In maize, a white band down the young leaf. In rice, brown spots on the older leaves in the nursery.

Works with, and against

Zinc and phosphorus pull against each other, so a soil low in zinc gets worse when phosphate is piled on. High pH locks zinc in the soil the same way it locks phosphate.

On Pakistani ground

The Soil Atlas fills zinc from the survey median district by district; several districts read Critical. Read yours before deciding.

VAN carries it in

V-TransformZinc 21% granularV-Zinc 10%Zinc sulfate 10% w/vVL-MicromixZn 5 · Fe 2 · Mn 2 · Cu 1 (% w/v)V. Ammonium Phosphate10-44-0 + Fe·Mn·Cu

Boron builds the cell wall with calcium and carries sugar to the flower. It decides pollination, seed set and fruit set. A cotton boll, a sunflower head or a rice panicle that sets badly is often a boron story.

When it is short

Growing points die, stems go hollow or cracked, flowers drop without setting, fruit is misshapen. Cauliflower gets a hollow brown stem; sugar beet a rotten heart.

Works with, and against

Boron and calcium work together at the growing point. The gap between enough boron and too much boron is narrow, which is why VAN puts it on the potash granule as a coating rather than as a loose dose.

On Pakistani ground

Boron reads low across much of the Punjab survey; the Soil Atlas shows the district figure and the band.

VAN carries it in

VL-BoronBoron 5% w/v liquidVital PotashN 11 · K₂O 44. Coated with boron in 2 formsFusion Potash2-0-50 + S 1.5% · B 1% · Mg 1% · 2 formsV-Mag EssentialMg 8.5% · B 1% powderCala-Mag VN 10% · Ca 6% · Mg 4% · B 1%

Iron makes chlorophyll and runs the enzymes that move electrons. A leaf without iron cannot turn light into sugar.

When it is short

The youngest leaves go yellow between the veins with the veins sharply green, then whole leaves go white. Old leaves stay green, which separates it from magnesium.

Works with, and against

Iron and manganese compete, and high pH locks both. Bicarbonate in irrigation water and lime in the soil are the usual cause on Pakistani ground, so the soil can be full of iron the root cannot drink.

On Pakistani ground

Iron is on VAN’s soil report and on the Soil Atlas. In 4 districts the survey figures are marked not comparable, and the Atlas says so rather than banding them.

VAN carries it in

VL-MicromixZn 5 · Fe 2 · Mn 2 · Cu 1 (% w/v)V-Potash Plus10-0-40 + Mg · B · chelated FeV. Ammonium Phosphate10-44-0 + Fe·Mn·CuV-Germinator ProLiquid P 27% + N 4.5 · K 2 · Mg · S · Fe

Manganese splits water inside the leaf so that photosynthesis can run, and it helps the plant use nitrogen. It also stiffens the plant against fungal disease.

When it is short

Yellowing between the veins on young and middle leaves, with grey or brown speckles. In oats and wheat it shows as grey speck.

Works with, and against

Manganese is locked by high pH and by a dry, well aerated soil. Too much iron or a heavy lime dose makes it worse.

On Pakistani ground

Manganese is on VAN’s soil report and on the Soil Atlas.

VAN carries it in

VL-MicromixZn 5 · Fe 2 · Mn 2 · Cu 1 (% w/v)V. Ammonium Phosphate10-44-0 + Fe·Mn·Cu

Copper runs the enzymes that build lignin, the woody part of the stem, and it is needed for pollen to form. Cereals short of copper set empty heads.

When it is short

Young leaves twist and wilt at the tip, heads emerge empty or half filled, stems are weak. Rare on most Pakistani soil.

Works with, and against

Copper is held tightly by organic matter, so peaty and heavily manured ground can run short while a mineral soil does not.

On Pakistani ground

Copper reads Healthy in every Punjab district where the survey figure is comparable (32 of 36; 4 are marked not comparable on the Soil Atlas). VAN checked its cutoff against the published literature and it holds. This site does not sell copper as a general shortage.

VAN carries it in

VL-MicromixZn 5 · Fe 2 · Mn 2 · Cu 1 (% w/v)V. Ammonium Phosphate10-44-0 + Fe·Mn·Cu