An Assignment on

An Explanation of How Internal and External Factors

Influence Nutrient Supply to Plant Root by Mass Flow

Course No. ACHEM3101

Course Title - Plant Nutrition, Pesticide and Environmental Chemistry

Submitted to Submitted by
Dr. Quazi Forhad Quadir Md. Azaharul Islam
Professor ID No: 1802356
Department of Agricultural Chemistry Reg. No: 47940
Bangladesh Agricultural University. Session: 2017-2018

Department of Agricultural Chemistry

Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh- 2202
Mass Flow: Mass Flow is the convective transport of nutrients dissolved in the soil
solution from surrounding soil to the root surface. This process originates from
the necessity of moving mineral nutrients to plant root cell of lower concentration
from soil solution of higher concentration creating gradient down. Therefore,
thevamount of supplied nutrients is a sum up of some very influential factors.

External Factors:
 Soil Properties:

✓ In coarse textured soil, water moves fast. Clay soil is compact, creates slow
moving of water. Thus, mass flow is higher in sandy soil than clay.

✓ Acidic pH of soil solution accelerates the absorption of anions and basic pH

favours the absorption of cation.

✓ When soil moisture content is high (e.g. at field capacity), mass flow is
unrestricted. But low water content becomes a limiting factor for nutrient
delivery to root surface by mass flow.

 Climatic Conditions:

✓ Temperature: High temperature increases the transpiration of plant and mass

flow rate as well. Low temperature affects mass flow negatively.

✓ Precipitation: Higher rate of ppt. makes the transpiration rate lower, thus mass
flow get lower. Lower ppt. create higher mass flow accordingly.

✓ Light intensity: More light intensity stimulate the stomatal opening well, so
transpiration is more. As a chain, mass flow high and the reverse next are true.

✓ Wind velocity: Water vapour get removed by high wind velocity creating
chance for more transpiration. So, mass flow increases.
  Solubility of Nutrients:
To be supplied by mass flow, nutrient ions must be soluble rather than chemically
fixed (e.g.as oxide, sesquioxide or salt). So, the nutrient rich soil solution makes up
large supply by mass flow while poor soil due to lack of nutrient solubility,
nutrient supply is very poor by mass flow.

Internal Factors:
 Plant Species- Different plant, different genetics, different,
demands of water & nutrients.

✓ Roots of different species show different rate of water uptake per unit length.
Monocot plants have fibrous type root & dicot plants have tap root system.
Numbers of root hairs vary species to species. Increased rate of water uptake per
unit length of root, tap root & more numbers of root hair can increase the rate of
mass flow. Thus, supplied nutrient amount become large & vice-versa.

✓ Plant age influences transpiration rate & mass flow has proportional relation
with transpiration rate since transpiration creates an capilary force towards up
drawing water. In case of younger plant, cuticle layer be thin. So, cuticular
transpiration be higher, as a result, mass flow gets higher rate & very clearly
amount of supplied nutrient is higher. In case of aged plant, cuticular layer is
thick, transpiration decreases, mass flow be lower.

Reference:
1. Marschner’s Mineral Nutrition of Higher Plants edited by Petra Marschner
2. Plant Physiology by Taiz and Zeiger