Zinc deficiency
India’s most common micronutrient shortage — interveinal pale bands and bronzing on young leaves, "little-leaf" rosettes, and stunted stems.
- Nutrient type
- Micronutrient
- Mobility in plant
- Immobile
- Symptoms start on
- New (upper) leaves
- Most at risk
- Calcareous, sandy, high-pH soils
Overview
Zinc is needed in tiny amounts, but a huge share of Indian soils — especially the calcareous, sandy and intensively-cropped ones of the north — are short of it. It drives the hormones that lengthen stems and expand leaves, so a shortage crowds leaves into small rosettes ("little-leaf") and shortens the space between them.
On the leaf, zinc deficiency shows as pale or bronzed bands between the veins of the younger leaves, with the midrib and a strip beside it staying green. In rice it has its own name — "khaira" — appearing as rusty-brown patches a few weeks after transplanting. Because zinc barely moves in the plant, symptoms are always on the new growth.
How to spot it
- Pale yellow or bronzed bands appear between the veins of the young leaves, while the midrib and the area right beside it stay green.
- Leaves are small and bunched into rosettes ("little-leaf"), and the stem between them is short — the plant looks squat.
- In rice, rusty-brown patches ("khaira") appear on the lower leaves 2–4 weeks after transplanting, and plants stay stunted.
- In fruit trees (citrus, grapes, mango) the new leaves are small, narrow and mottled, and shoots grow in tight tufts.
Why it happens
- Calcareous and high-pH (alkaline) soils lock zinc into unavailable forms — the single biggest cause across northern India.
- Sandy soils and soils low in organic matter simply hold little zinc.
- Heavy phosphorus application interferes with zinc uptake, so an over-fertilised P crop can show hidden zinc deficiency.
- Continuous rice–wheat cropping and flooded (submerged) rice soils, where zinc availability drops sharply.
Confirm before you spend
- Interveinal bands on the YOUNG leaves plus short, bunched "little-leaf" growth is characteristic — iron deficiency also strikes young leaves but yellows the whole leaf between fine green veins without the bronzing or rosetting.
- A soil test for available zinc (DTPA-extractable) tells you the field status; a large fraction of Soil Health Card samples in India read low, so it is worth checking.
How to correct it
- Apply zinc sulphate to the soil at sowing/transplanting — the standard broadcast rate is about 25 kg/ha of zinc sulphate (heptahydrate), less for the monohydrate form; one good dose often lasts 2–3 crops.
- For a standing crop, spray 0.5% zinc sulphate neutralised with half its weight of lime (to avoid leaf scorch), and repeat once after 10–15 days.
- In rice showing khaira, a foliar spray gives the fastest recovery; correct the soil at the next puddling.
- Do not mix zinc sulphate with phosphatic fertiliser or spray it with lime-free high-pH water, both of which reduce its availability.
Prevent it coming back
- Apply zinc as a routine part of the fertiliser schedule in rice–wheat systems and on known-deficient calcareous soils, not only when symptoms show.
- Build organic matter with FYM and green manure, which holds and slowly releases zinc.
- Avoid overdoing phosphorus, which aggravates zinc deficiency; balance the two against a soil test.
Crops most at risk
Where this problem is called out in our crop guides — open a crop for the full package of practices.
Frequently asked questions
What is "khaira" disease in rice — is it a fungus?
No, khaira is not a disease organism at all — it is zinc deficiency. It shows as rusty-brown patches on rice leaves a few weeks after transplanting, with stunted plants. A 0.5% zinc sulphate + lime foliar spray recovers it, and applying zinc sulphate at puddling prevents it.
Why do my crops keep getting zinc deficiency on the same field?
Most likely the soil is calcareous or high-pH, which locks zinc into forms the plant cannot take up — very common in northern India. Continuous rice–wheat cropping and heavy phosphorus use make it worse. A soil-applied zinc sulphate dose every 2–3 crops, plus organic matter, keeps it in check.
Why add lime when spraying zinc sulphate?
Zinc sulphate solution is acidic and can scorch leaves. Neutralising it with about half its weight of lime before spraying prevents the burn while keeping the zinc available. Mix the lime water and zinc sulphate solution separately, then combine — do not skip it on a tender crop.
Symptoms and control measures follow ICAR, KVK and state agricultural-university package-of-practices; any named chemical is a registered use. Always read the product label and confirm the dose for your crop and zone. editorial policy.