Plant Nutrition

Plant Nutrition
1. What is meant by “plant nutrition”

2. The chemical elements required by plants

3. How plants take up mineral elements from soil

4. Problems in plant nutrition

5. Nitrogen and the effects of soil organic matter on plant nutrition

6. Leaf senescence and withdrawal of nutrients to the plant

1. What is plant nutrition?

Uptake from the soil of mineral

elements

“Plant nutrition” specifically

does not refer to photosynthesis.

the uptake of nutrients from

the soil directly by roots

mutualistic relationships
between plants and fungi and
microrganisms
 2. The chemical elements required by plants

Plants require 13 mineral nutrient elements for growth.

The elements that are required or necessary for plants to

complete their life cycle are called essential plant nutrients

Each has a critical function in plants and are required in varying

amounts in plant tissue.

The nutrient elements differ in the form they are absorbed by the
plant, by their functions in the plant, by their mobility in the
plant and by the plant deficiency or toxicity symptoms
characteristic of the nutrient.
Name Chemical Relative Function in plant
symbol % in plant
to N
Primary macronutrients
Nitrogen N 100 Proteins, amino acids
Phosphorus P 6 Nucleic acids, ATP
Potassium K 25 Catalyst, ion transport

Secondary macronutrients
Calcium Ca 12.5 Cell wall component
Magnesium Mg 8 Part of chlorophyll
Sulfur S 3 Amino acids
Iron Fe 0.2 Chlorophyll synthesis

Micronutrients
Copper Cu 0.01 Component of enzymes
Manganese Mn 0.1 Activates enzymes
Zinc Zn 0.03 Activates enzymes
Boron B 0.2 Cell wall component
Molybdenum Mo 0.0001 Involved in N fixation
Chlorine Cl 0.3 Photosynthesis reactions
 3. How plants take up mineral elements from soil

A. Bulk flow: Uptake in the transpiration stream

Nutrients diffuse to regions of low concentration and
roots grow into and proliferate in soil zones with high
nutrient concentrations.

B. Mycorrhizae: symbiotic relationship with fungi

are slow growing but mycorrhizal fungi proliferate
and ramify through the soil. Symbiotic relationship:
carbon-nitrogen exchange.
Occurrence of H+ in soil water is shown as the result
of respiration of CO2 and disassociation of carbonic
acid.

Water flow
Summary of soil water chemistry
 Apoplastic and Symplastic Transport
Plant growth depends on its ability to take up water and dissolved
minerals from the soil. The root system of every plant is equipped
with the necessary tissues to facilitate the entry of water and solutes.
The plant tissues involved in the transport of water and minerals
have two major compartments - the apoplast and the symplast.
The apoplast includes everything outside the plasma membrane
of living cells and consists of cell walls, extracellular spaces, xylem,
phloem, and tracheids.
The symplast, in contrast, consists of the entire cytosol of all living
plant cells and the plasmodesmata - which are the cytoplasmic
channels interconnecting the cells.
 Cross section of endodermis
with the Casparian strip
Casparian
stained pink. The Casparian
strip
strip contains suberin and
lignin

Cross section of Smilax root Cross section of Zea mays root using
showing heavily thickened fluorescence microscopy showing
endodermis walls thickened cell walls on the inside of
endodermis
Uptake of water and nutrients by roots
The ions that have passed through
the endodermis are contained
within the vascular tissue.

Water can then be drawn into the

root from the soil by osmosis, the
endosmotic root pressure. This can
be sufficient to force water up
through the xylem and may be
particularly important when there is
not a strong water potential gradient
due to transpiration

Some plants have hydathodes at

their leaf margins that secrete water
as droplets, a process called
guttation.
 4.Problems in plant nutrition
Plant Nutrient Type Visual symptoms
Nitrogen Deficiency Light green to yellow appearance of leaves, especially
older leaves; stunted growth; poor fruit development.
Excess Dark green foliage which may be susceptible to
lodging, drought, disease and insect invasion. Fruit
and seed crops may fail to yield.

Phosphorus Deficiency Leaves may develop purple coloration; stunted plant

growth and delay in plant development.
Excess Excess phosphorus may cause micronutrient
deficiencies, especially iron or zinc.

Potassium Deficiency Older leaves turn yellow initially around margins and
die; irregular fruit development.
Excess Excess potassium may cause deficiencies in
magnesium
and possibly calcium.
5. Nitrogen and the effects of soil organic matter on
plant nutrition

Nitrogen is abundant in the environment. It is one of the most

important plant nutrients and forms some of the most mobile
compounds in the soil-crop system. It is continually cycled among
plants, soil organisms, soil organic matter, water, and the
atmosphere. It enters the soil from many different sources and
leaves the root zone of the soil in many different ways. This flux of
nitrogen into, out of, and within the soil takes place through complex
biochemical transformations.

Most uptake from the soil is in
the form of nitrate
Mineralization processes
transform the nitrogen in soil
organic matter to ammonium ions
(NH4), releasing them into the
soil.
Nitrification processes transform
ammonium ions, which are
produced by mineralization or
added to the soil, to nitrite (NO2)
and to nitrate (NO3), which is
easily absorbed by plant roots.
Denitrification, another biological
transformation, converts nitrate
into nitrite and then to gaseous
nitrogen (N2) and nitrous oxide
(N2O). This is the major pathway
that returns nitrogen from the soil
environment to the atmosphere.
 Organic material is important in agricultural soils both as a
source of nitrogen and because it can increase water
holding capacity, e.g. biosolids application effects

A characteristic of non-agricultural
soils is accumulation of organic
material and acidification of the soil.
Such soils typically develop a very
distinct stratification, with organic
mater at the top.
Spodic
soil

The organic layers in such soils can

have a considerable total quantity of
nitrogen but little may be available
due to the high acidity, and sometimes
lack of oxygen, in the organic layer.
 6. Leaf senescence and withdrawal of
nutrients to the plant
Plant senescence is the
process of aging in plants. Plants
have both stress-induced and age-
related developmental aging It is
the collective term for the process
leading to the death of a plant or
plant part, like a leaf.
Leaf senescence is a part of
the process by which a plant goes
into dormancy and is induced by a
change in day length.
As daylength decreases, the plants
ability to synthesize chlorophyll
becomes reduced.

Yellow and orange carotinoids and

xanthophylls, always present within
the leaf, begin to show.

Water and nutrients are drawn into

the stems and from the leaves.

Senescing cells also produce other

chemicals, particularly
anthocyanins, responsible for red
and purple colors.

Some species, particularly oaks,

contain high quantities of tannins
in the leaves which are responsible
for brown colors.
 Leaf Abscission
The final stage in leaf senescence is abscission ("cutting off")
Abscission is controlled by a special layer of cells at the
base of the petiole, the abscission layer.
This layer releases ethylene gas that stimulates production
of cellulase. This in turn breaks down cells walls so that
eventually the leaf is held on to the plant only by xylem
fibers. Wind eventually weakens these and leaf falls

Another special layer of cells adjacent to the abscission layer

produces cells impregnated with suberin. These form a
protective layer, which is seen as the leaf scar

Tyloses, as well as gums are formed inside the vessels and

plug them up before abscission occurs
 Axilliary
Vascular tissue bud

Leaf Stem

Abscission layer

Developing leaf scar