6. Why is that in certain plants deficiency symptoms appear first in younger parts of the plant while in others they do so in mature organs?
Deficiency symptom refers to the morphological changes in plants that indicate a deficiency of a particular nutrient. The occurrence of deficiency symptoms in plant parts depends on the mobility of the deficient element in the plant. For example, elements such as nitrogen, potassium, and magnesium are highly mobile. These elements can move from the mature organs to the younger parts of a plant. Therefore, the symptoms of the deficiencies of these elements first appear in the older parts of the plant. Similarly, elements like calcium and sulphur are relatively immobile and are not transported out of the older parts of a plant. Therefore, the symptoms for the deficiencies of these elements first appear in the younger parts of the plant. Hence, certain plant deficiency symptoms appear first in younger parts of the plant while in others they do so in mature organs.