Molybdenum guide
Molybdenum is a micronutrient the crop needs in very small amounts to turn nitrate into protein and, in legumes, for the nodule bacteria to...
Read the full guideMolybdenum deficiency symptoms crop by crop
How molybdenum deficiency looks in pulses, soybean, groundnut, cauliflower, citrus and vegetables, and why it is often mistaken for nitrogen shortage.
Molybdenum deficiency looks like nitrogen shortage: pale older leaves that do not respond to urea, scorched or cupped leaf edges, and in legumes few, pale nodules. In cauliflower it causes whiptail, narrow strap-like leaves. It is most common on acid soils.
By Gafar Laiya and the Gujarat Bio Organics team. Updated November 2026.
Crop by crop
| Crop | What you see |
|---|---|
| Pulses: gram, tur, moong, urad | Pale plants, few pink nodules, weak growth despite good soil moisture. |
| Soybean and groundnut | Pale older leaves and poor nodulation on acid soils. |
| Cauliflower and cabbage | Whiptail: narrow, twisted, strap-like leaves and small curds. |
| Citrus | Yellow spots between veins on older leaves (yellow spot). |
| Tomato and vegetables | Pale, mottled older leaves with rolled edges. |
Check the nodules
- Dig up a few plants carefully at flowering.
- Healthy nodules are many, firm and pink or red inside.
- Few, small, white or green nodules point to a nodulation problem, which molybdenum shortage can cause.
Look-alikes
- Nitrogen shortage: improves with urea, molybdenum shortage does not.
- Waterlogging: roots and nodules rot and smell.
- Sulphur shortage: yellows the young leaves rather than the old.
Confirm and correct
- Confirm with a soil or leaf test before you spend.
- Read the full molybdenum guide for causes and correction.
- Use the symptom guide to compare with other nutrients.
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
Molybdenum and legumes: nodules, nitrogen and seed treatment
How molybdenum lets Rhizobium bacteria fix nitrogen in pulses, why acid soils run short, and how seed treatment supplies it cheaply.
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.
- Pulses guide and Immunity Pulses Special
- Groundnut (Mungfali) guide and Immunity Mungfali (Groundnut) Special
- Vegetables guide and Immunity Vegetable 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
What does molybdenum deficiency look like in pulses?
Pale plants, few pink nodules, weak growth despite good soil moisture.
What does molybdenum deficiency look like in soybean and groundnut?
Pale older leaves and poor nodulation on acid soils.
What does molybdenum deficiency look like in cauliflower and cabbage?
Whiptail: narrow, twisted, strap-like leaves and small curds.