Calcium Deficiencies

• Calcium Nitrate Ca(NO3)2
• Calcium Carbonate CaCO3

• Ca++
• Positive charge

• Calcium is required in relatively large concentrations for normal cell growth.
• A critical  component of both cell walls and membranes (Calcium Pectate). Gives strength. For example, crispiness of apples is derived from high calcium pectate content.
• Largely controls soil pH
• Plays role in protein formation and carbohydrate movement
• Signaling or regulatory role in directing roots to grow down rather than up

• Lower  CEC soils hold less Ca, and high CEC soils hold more.

• Abnormally high levels, or application rates of other cations, in the presence of low to moderate soil Ca levels, tends to reduce the uptake of Ca.

• Excess sodium (Na) in the soil competes with Ca, and other cations to reduce their availability to crops.

• Soils derived from limestone, marl, or other high Ca minerals will tend to have high Ca levels, while those derived from shale or sandstone will tend to have lower levels.

• Calcium deficiency in the soil.
• Most common during drier weather and when potassium levels are much higher than calcium levels.

• Light to dark brown speckling, lesions, and necrosis (premature death of tissue and living cells).
• Plants with black - heart disease develop water - soaked tips on their young leaves that turn brown and expand to cover all the central leaves.

• Apply foliar spray of calcium chloride or nitrate directly on sensitive tissue is a common solution
• The control of black-heart of celery with calcium spray

• Blossom - end rot is a physiologic disorder associated with a low concentration of calcium in the fruit. When a rapidly growing fruit is deprived of necessary calcium, the tissues break down, leaving  the characteristic dry, sunken lesion at the blossom end. Blossom - end rot is induced when demand for calcium exceeds supply. This may result from low calcium levels or high amounts of competitive cations in the soil, drought stress, or excessive soil moisture fluctuations which reduce uptake and movement of calcium into the plant, or rapid, vegetative growth due to excessive nitrogen fertilization.

• Blossom - end rot is a serious disorder of tomato, pepper,, and eggplant. Growers often are distressed to notice that a dry sunken decay has developed on the blossom end (opposite the stem) of many fruit, especially the first fruit of the season. This non - parasitic disorder can be extremely economically damaging as fruit that display symptoms are unsellable.

• Maintain a soil pH around 6.5. Liming will supply calcium and will increase the ratio of calcium ions to other competitive ions in the soil.
• Blossom - end rot is caused by a calcium deficiency related to fluctuations in available moisture. 

• Calcium deficiency
• Conditions that favor rapid plant growth (warn temperatures and high fertilization rates) or low transpiration rates (foggy conditions) may create conditions that trigger this disorder.

• Tipburn is a localized calcium deficiency. It often develops along the margins of leaves in the final weeks before harvest when the plant growth rate is at its highest. It is often unrelated to soil calcium levels. Because calcium is not very mobile within the plant, expanding tissues on young leaves and growing points may run short of this essential element and begin to develop deficiency symptoms.

• Maintaining even soil moisture levels and preventing the root zone from drying out helps increase calcium uptake and may reduce the risk or severity of tipburn.
• Tip leaf burs on lettuce, caused by calcium deficiency.

• Calcium Lime
• Dolomitic Lime
• Granular Gypsum

• Drop Spreader
• Broadcast Spreader