PLANT NUTRITION

CHAPTER OVERVIEW
PLANT NUTRITION

6.1 Photosynthesis
6.2 Leaf structure
6.3 Mineral Nutrition
PHOTOSYNTHESIS
 Photosynthesis is the process by which plants
make carbohydrates from raw materials
 using energy from light

 Chlorophyll is a green pigment that is found in

chloroplasts
 Chlorophyll transfers light energy into chemical
energy for the formation of glucose and other
carbohydrates
FORMATION OF GLUCOSE
 Photosynthesis takes place in the leaves
 water is absorbed from the soil by the roots and
carried in the water vessels of the veins, up the
stem to the leaf.
 Carbon dioxide is absorbed from the air through
the stomata
 In the leaf cells, the carbon dioxide and water are
combined to make sugar. The energy for this
reaction comes from sunlight that has been
absorbed by the green pigment chlorophyll. The
chlorophyll is present in the chloroplasts of the
leaf cells and it is inside the chloroplasts that
the reaction takes place.
CHLOROPLASTS
 Chloroplasts are small, green structures present
in the cytoplasm of the leaf cells.
 Chlorophyll is the substance that gives leaves
and stems their green colour. It is able to absorb
energy from light and use it to split water
molecules into hydrogen and oxygen.
 The oxygen escapes from the leaf and the
hydrogen molecules are added to carbon dioxide
molecules to form sugar
 In this way the light energy has been transferred
into the chemical energy of carbohydrates as they
are synthesised.
FATE OF GLUCOSE
IMPORTANCE OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS
 As well as sugars for energy and starch
for storage, the plant needs cellulose for
its cell walls, lipids for its cell membranes,
proteins for its cytoplasm and pigments
for its flower petals, etc.
 All these substances are built up
(synthesised) from the sugar molecules
and other molecules produced in
photosynthesis.
THE PLANT’S USE OF PHOTOSYNTHETIC
PRODUCTS

 Glucose

Glucose produced is used in respiration to

provide energy. The process of respiration
oxidizes glucose. The products are
carbondioxide and water and the energy
released is used for other chemical reactions
like building up of proteins.
 Starch

Glucose that is not needed for respiration is

turned in to starch and stored or changed in to
other molecules. Starch is an energy store.
THE PLANT’S USE OF PHOTOSYNTHETIC
PRODUCTS

 Sucrose for transport through the plant.

The starch is broken down to sucrose
which is soluble. The sucrose is
transported out of the cell in to the
phloem. These are food carrying cells
which passes sucrose to all parts of the
plants that do not photosynthesize e.g
growing buds, the ripening fruits, the
roots and the underground storage
organs.
 Cellulose is used for new cell walls
EXPERIMENTS TO INVESTIGATE
PHOTOSYNTHEIS

Safety
Eye protection must be worn
Wear lab coat
EXPERIMENTS TO INVESTIGATE
PHOTOSYNTHESIS

 Hypothesis
Leaf can make starch without chlorophyll, sunlight
or carbondioxide

If the hypothesis is correct, then if any of the three

things are missing, photosynthesis should stop
However, if the plant keeps making starch, then
the hypothesis was wrong and must be changed.
PROCEDURE FOR THE EXPERIMENTS

 Before starting the experiment to prove

Chlorophyll, Sunlight and carbondioxide is
necessary for photosynthesis an important step
has to be carried out is known as De-starching.
 De-starching is a process in which the starch
present in the leaves will be eliminated by
keeping the plant in dark room or closed cup-
board for about 48 hours. This step is done to
ensure that previously manufactured food in the
leaves get consumed when the plant was kept in
dark place since photosynthesis doesn't occur at
that time.
DESTARCHING A PLANT
METHODS TO DESTARCH A PLANT
 Leave the plant in darkness for 2 to 3 days. In
the darkness, any starch in the leaves will be
changed to sugar and carried away to the other
parts of the plant.
 For plants growing outside, the experiment is set
up on the day before the test. During the night,
most of the starch will be removed from the
leaves.
 Cover some leaves with aluminium foil while
they still grow on the same plant
 This Kills the

TESTING A LEAF FOR STARCH

cytoplasm,
denatures the
enzymes, makes the
leaf more permeable
to iodine solution

Alcohol is used
to remove
chlorophyll from
the leaf

Blue if starch
detected
1 IS CHLOROPHYLL NECESSARY FOR
PHOTOSYNTHESIS
 It is not possible to remove chlorophyll from a leaf
without killing it, and so a variegated leaf, which has
chlorophyll only in patches, is used.
 The white part of the leaf serves as the experiment,
because it lacks chlorophyll, while the green part with
chlorophyll is the control.
 After being destarched, the leaf – still on the plant –
is exposed to daylight for a few hours.
 Remove a leaf from the plant and test it for starch
 Result
 Only the parts that were previously green turn blue
with iodine.
 The parts that were white stain brown
1 IS CHLOROPHYLL NECESSARY FOR
PHOTOSYNTHESIS

Variegated leaf
– a leaf with
only patches of
chlorophyll
2 IS SUNLIGHT NECESSARY FOR
PHOTOSYNTHESIS
1. Take the potted plant and keep it in a dark place for 2-3
days so that the leaves get destarched.
2. Cover a part of one of its leaves with the strip of black
paper. Make sure that you cover both the sides of the leaf.
3. Now place this plant in sunlight for 3—4 hours.
4. Pluck the selected covered leaf and remove the black paper
covering it.
5. Place this leaf in the beaker containing water and boil it for
about 10 minutes.
6. Take out the leaf and now boil it in alcohol, using the water
bath, for 10 minutes. This removes the chlorophyll.
7. Take out the leaf and wash it under running water.
8. Place this leaf in the Petri dish and put a few drops of
iodine solution on it. Now observe the change in colour.
2 IS SUNLIGHT NECESSARY FOR
PHOTOSYNTHESIS

Observations:
 The leaf turns blue-black except in the covered
region. As this covered region did not receive
light, photosynthesis did not occur. Hence no
starch was formed there. The uncovered region
received light and starch was formed there due to
photosynthesis.
Result:
Light is essential
for photosynthesis.
3 IS CARBON DIOXIDE NEEDED FOR
PHOTOSYNTHESIS?
 Water two destarched
potted plants and enclose
their shoots in polythene
bags.
 In one pot place a dish of
soda-lime to absorb the
carbon dioxide from the air
(the experiment).
 In the other place a dish of
sodium hydrogencarbonate
solution to produce carbon
dioxide (the control)
 Place both plants in the
light for several hours and
then test a leaf from each
for starch.
3 IS CARBON DIOXIDE NEEDED FOR
PHOTOSYNTHESIS?

Result
 The leaf that had no carbon dioxide does not turn
blue. The one from the polythene bag containing
carbon dioxide does turn blue.
4 IS OXYGEN PRODUCED DURING
PHOTOSYNTHESIS?
 BOOK READING

Practical work

Page 81-84
GASEOUS EXCHANGE IN PLANTS
 Air contains the gases nitrogen, oxygen, carbon
dioxide and water vapour. Plants and animals
take in or give out these last three gases and this
process is called gaseous exchange.
LIMITING FACTORS OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS

 Plants need several factors for photosynthesis to occur:

 the presence of photosynthetic pigments
 a supply of carbon dioxide
 a supply of water
 light energy
 a suitable temperature
 If there is a shortage of any of these factors, photosynthesis
cannot occur at its maximum possible rate
 The main external factors that affect the rate of
photosynthesis are:
 light intensity
 carbon dioxide concentration
 temperature
 These are known as limiting factors of photosynthesis
 If any one of these factors is below the optimum level for
the plant, its rate of photosynthesis will be reduced, even if
the other two factors are at the optimum level
LIMITING FACTOR
 A limiting factor is something present in the
environment in such short supply that it restricts
life processes.
 BOOK READING

Practical work

Page 88-91
STOMA
ADAPTATIONS OF LEAF FOR
PHOTOSYNTHESIS
ADAPTATIONS OF LEAF FOR
PHOTOSYNTHESIS
THE NEED FOR MINERAL IONS
 Photosynthesis produces carbohydrates, but
plants contain many other types of biological
molecule; such as proteins, lipids and nucleic acid
(DNA)
 As plants do not eat, they need to make these
substances themselvesCarbohydrates contain
the elements carbon, hydrogen and oxygen but
proteins, for example, contain nitrogen as well
(and certain amino acids contain other elements
too) Other chemicals in plants contain different
elements as well, for example chlorophyll
contains magnesium and nitrogen
 This means that without a source of these
elements, plants cannot photosynthesise or grow
properly
 THE NEED FOR MINERAL IONS
 Plants obtain these elements in the form of mineral
ions actively absorbed from the soil by root hair
cells
 ‘Mineral’ is a term used to describe any naturally
occurring inorganic substance
 Other chemicals in plants contain different elements as
well, for example chlorophyll
contains magnesium and nitrogen
 This means that without a source of these elements,
plants cannot photosynthesize or grow properly
 Plants obtain these elements in the form of mineral
ions actively absorbed from the soil by root hair
cells
 ‘Mineral’ is a term used to describe any naturally
occurring inorganic substance
EFFECTS OF MINERAL ION
DEFICIENCIES
WATER CULTURES
 It is possible to demonstrate the importance of the
various mineral elements by growing plants in water
cultures.
 A full water culture is a solution containing the salts
that provide all the necessary elements for healthy
growth, such as
• potassium nitrate for potassium and nitrogen
• magnesium sulfate for magnesium and sulfur
• potassium phosphate for potassium and phosphorus
• calcium nitrate for calcium and nitrogen.
 From these elements, plus the carbon dioxide, water
and sunlight needed for photosynthesis, a green plant
can make all the substances it needs for a healthy
existence.