Manganese guide
Manganese is a micronutrient the crop needs to split water in photosynthesis, to switch on enzymes and to build lignin, which strengthens...
Read the full guideManganese deficiency in wheat after paddy
Why wheat sown after paddy on light soils often runs short of manganese, how to spot it early, and how growers correct it.
In a paddy field, flooding dissolves manganese and some of it moves down out of the root zone. When the soil dries for wheat, the manganese that remains turns into forms the roots cannot use. On light, sandy and alkaline soils this leaves wheat short of manganese, seen as pale striped leaves with grey specks. Foliar manganese is the usual correction.
By Gafar Laiya and the Gujarat Bio Organics team. Updated November 2026.
Why rice-wheat fields are at risk
- Years of flooding move manganese down the soil.
- Light soils hold little to begin with.
- Dry, well-aerated soil in winter keeps it locked.
What growers can do
- Watch the crop from about the first irrigation onward.
- Spray manganese on the leaves at the first signs; repeat if new leaves show it.
- Keep crop residues and organic matter in the soil rather than burning them.
- Test the soil to know which fields are short.
Read more
Doses depend on the crop, soil and product, so this page gives methods, not amounts. Take the dose from your soil test report, the product label or your local agriculture officer or KVK. Results differ from farm to farm with soil, weather, crop and management. Farmer experiences on this site are their own reports, not a promise of results.
Read next
Manganese deficiency symptoms crop by crop
How manganese deficiency looks in wheat, citrus, sugarcane, pulses, potato and paddy, how to tell it from iron and magnesium, and how to confirm it.
Read the full guideHow Gujarat Bio Organics can help
Since 2006, lakhs of farmers from Kashmir to Kanyakumari have used Immunity products on almost every crop: from the mango farms around Somnath to the apple orchards of Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir, the tea estates of Assam and Darjeeling, and the banana, coconut and cardamom farms of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. Each Special is one formula made for one crop and its common problems. Tell us your crop, soil test and what you see, and our team will tell you what to check, whether a micronutrient correction is needed, and which Special fits your programme.
- Wheat and cereals guide and Immunity Dhanya Special
- Citrus guide and Immunity Citrus Special
- Sugarcane guide and Immunity Sugarcane Special
- Potato guide and Immunity Potato Special
Results differ from farm to farm with soil, weather, crop and management. Farmer experiences on this site are their own reports, not a promise of results.
Questions
Does burning paddy straw affect manganese?
Burning removes organic matter that helps keep nutrients available. Returning residues to the soil is better for soil health.
Will more urea fix it?
No. Nitrogen does not correct manganese shortage.