Symptoms of nutrient deficiencies in young olive trees and leaf nutrient concentration at which such symptoms appear

•Symptoms of mineral deficiencies were induced and photographed in young olive trees.•Leaf-nutrient concentration to which the symptoms appeared was determined.•Nutrient partitioning among the different plant parts was also determined.

Mist-rooted ‘Picual’ olive cuttings growing in 1 L pots containing a mixture of washed sand and perlite, were used to induce symptoms of N, K, Mg, Ca, Fe, Mn, Zn and B deficiencies. Plants were growing in a shadehouse protected from the rain from June to December, and then placed in a growth chamber at 25/15 °C (day/night) with a 14 h photoperiod and 65% humidity until the end of the experiment. Plants were drip-irrigated with desioned water and once a week with 100 mL of a nutrient solution free in the element under treatment. Leaves were sampled periodically to determine leaf-nutrient concentration. When a symptom appeared, the symptomatic leaves were collected to be photographed. Deficiency symptoms appeared in the range of 50 days after the initiation of treatments in N and 34 weeks in K. Leaf-nutrient concentrations to which the symptoms appeared were determined in these plants.