Not too sure whats wrong with Avocado seedling

[Yackm]

Hi all,

Could someone please let me know if something is wrong with my avocado seedling? Its potted, indoors, with mulch, aircon (I live in Singapore) is on only in the evenings after I get back from work, set to 26 deg C. The browning of the leaves is very slow.

I water it from time to time, not too much, and i mist the leaves as well.

Here is a picture (attached) I took this morning..

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!

[applestar]

My first thoughts were -- too much sun (looks too yellow and possibly sunburned black areas) and looks like it needs water.

What kind of direct sun does it get? Baby avocados need mid-day shade and dappled sun.

When you water, do you water thoroughly? Then let it get dry on the surface of the soil?

Is it planted in a 1/3 to 1/4 sand/gravel well-draining mix?

Another possibility is especially if the air conditioner blows cold air directly at it, the extreme from daytime heat could be affecting it.

[rainbowgardener]

To me, those leaves look chlorotic (pale green/ yellow, with dark veins).

"Chlorosis is a yellowing of leaf tissue due to a lack of chlorophyll. Possible causes of chlorosis include poor drainage, damaged roots, compacted roots, high alkalinity, and nutrient deficiencies in the plant. Nutrient deficiencies may occur because there is an insufficient amount in the soil or because the nutrients are unavailable due to a high pH (alkaline soil). Or the nutrients may not be absorbed due to injured roots or poor root growth.

The lack of iron is one of the more common nutrients associated with chlorosis. Manganese or zinc deficiencies in the plant will also cause chlorosis" http://urbanext.illinois.edu/focus/inde ... =chlorosis

Are you fertilizing your sapling? Does the fertilizer you use have iron and other minerals in it?

And check what applestar said about drainage. Poor drainage can cause this or compacted roots. In the spring you may need to re-pot it into a larger pot. Your container does look small for the size of the tree.

[Yackm]

Hi guys,

It only gets the morning sun, and this is only recently. The browning started prior to me moving it to this position.

Yeap, I only water it when the top soil is dry.

The mix is has about 20% clay/limestone in it (a bit difficult to get a hold of it in the middle of the city...) whilst the aircon is located quite a distance away.

I have yet to fertilize the soil so you are maybe correct with this (that an maybe damaged roots? I understand avocado roots are quite fragile, whilst the new growth leaves seem to be ok!) I'll fertilize it tomorrow morning with my next watering and hopefully it will get better

Thank you very very much for your help!

[imafan26]

Avocado roots are fine but extensive. It does need to be fed the leaves do look chlorotic. When you water you should water until it comes out the drain holes and let the plant drip dry. If you only water a cup at a time, the salts will not be able to flush out of the soil and avocados are salt intolerant. You may need a bigger pot and fresh soil.