Manganese (Mn) deficiency is a plant disorder that is often confused with, and occurs with, iron deficiency. Most common in poorly drained soils, also where organic matter levels are high. Manganese may be unavailable to plants where pH is high.
Affected plants include onion, apple, peas, French beans, cherry and raspberry, and symptoms include yellowing of leaves with smallest leaf veins remaining green to produce a ‘chequered’ effect. The plant may seem to grow away from the problem so that younger leaves may appear to be unaffected. Brown spots may appear on leaf surfaces, and severely affected leaves turn brown and wither.
Prevention can be achieved by improving soil structure. Do not over-lime.
Manganese is also an essential cofactor of important enzymes active in the mitochondria, and in the synthesis of glycoproteins, which coat body cells and protect against invading viruses.
Manganese is an important constituent of activated arginase, an enzyme found in the liver, and mediates the conversion of arginine to urea.
Manganese is a constituent of the enzyme, pyruvate carboxylase, which plays an important role in gluconeogenesis: the conversion of various non-carbohydrate substances into glucose for subsequent use.
Manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) is the principal antioxidant enzyme of mitochondria.
Manganese is the preferred cofactor of enzymes called glycosyltransferases, which are required for the synthesis of proteoglycans that are needed for the formation of healthy cartilage and bone (5).
Manganesedeficient rats are more susceptible to seizures, and rats that are genetically prone to epilepsy have lower than normal brain and blood manganese levels.
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