Mineral Nutrition

Mineral Nutrition

Edited By Team Careers360 | Updated on May 11, 2022 03:13 PM IST

The absorption, distribution and metabolism of mineral elements by the plants is called mineral nutrition. Inorganic nutrients found in the soil and foods that are necessary for the proper functioning of animals and plants. Minerals are essential components of the body. Minerals are essential to both plants and animals. The manufacture of proteins and the division of cells depend on zinc.

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Micronutrients are nutrients plants require in very small quantities. Borax, copper, manganese, iron, molybdenum, and chlorine are among some of them. Those nutrients that plants need in large quantities are called macronutrients. Sulphur, nitrogen, carbon, phosphorus, calcium, potassium, and magnesium are a few of them.

The air, water, and soil provide plants with inorganic nutrients. Minerals are absorbed by plants in various combinations. Not every mineral element that they absorb is necessary for plants. The amount of elements discovered so far exceeds 105, but fewer than 21 are essential and beneficial for normal plant growth and development.

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Proteins, carbohydrates, fats, nucleic acids, etc., are either composed of these elements or they participate in several metabolic processes. Symptoms of deficiency can occur if any of these essential components are lacking.

Some prominent deficiency symptoms include chlorosis, necrosis, stunted growth, and impaired cell division. Both passive and active processes are used in the process of mineral absorption. In addition to water transportation, they are carried to all parts of the organism via xylem. It is essential to life that nitrogen is present in the body.

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Directly absorbing atmospheric nitrogen is not possible for plants. Plants, most notably legumes, are able to fix atmospheric nitrogen into biologically useful forms through association with N2-fixing bacteria. ATP is needed for the fixation of nitrogen in the form of a strong reducing agent. Rhizobium, a nitrogen fixing microbe, is the primary organism responsible for nitrogen fixation.

Nitrogen fixation by nitrogenase is dependent on oxygen, which makes the enzyme very sensitive to the presence of oxygen.

In most cases, nitrogen fixation is performed in anaerobic environments. Respiration of host cells provides ATP, which is needed for energy production. In amino acids, the amino group is incorporated from the ammonia produced during N2 fixing.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is the importance of purifying water and nutrient salts in studies involving mineral nutrition in hydroponics?

It refers to the process of growing plants in a solution without soil, utilising a nutrition solution. Impure water contains many impurities in the form of dissolved minerals. The impurities in this water will interfere with the experiments used to detect the elements if the solution culture is used to grow plants in hydroponics. Therefore, studies involving mineral nutrition using hydroponics use pure water and purified nutrient salts.

2. When a plant exhibits symptoms that could be caused by a deficiency of more than one nutrient, how would you determine the specific mineral that is deficient?

The solution is to place plants that exhibit multiple nutrient deficiencies in different sets of water cultures. The first, second, and third sets are given with three different nutrients and are grown hydroponically by supplementing one of the deficiencies. When an element is supplemented that is actually deficient, the plant will grow normally without any symptoms of deficiency.

3. The symptoms of deficiency typically appear in the younger parts of some plants, but in mature organs in others?

Symptoms are determined by the mobility of a deficient element. In the presence of an immobile element, symptoms tend to occur in young parts of the plant, and in the presence of a mobile element, symptoms tend to appear in older parts of the plant.

4. What is the process of mineral absorption by plants?

The absorption process can be broken down into two phases. In the first phase, ions are passively taken up into the apoplast, the 'free space' or 'outer space' of the cell. The ions are taken up into the symplast of the cells in the second phase of uptake - the "inner space.". Ion channels are transmembrane proteins that function as selective pores that allow ions to move passively into the apoplast.

The movement of ions into and out of the symplast requires metabolic energy, which is an active process. The movement of ions is known as flux; the influx of ions into the cells and the efflux of ions out of the cells.

5. When using hydroponics, how important is it to purify water and nutrient salts?

Hydroponics involves growing plants in nutrient solutions without soil in a limited amount. The roots of a plant are deprived of oxygen and other minerals when exposed to a limited solution. In order to maintain optimal plant growth and obtain accurate scientific results, water and nutrient salts need to be purified.

6. List five symptoms of a plant deficiency. Describe them.

Chlorosis: is caused by a deficiency in potassium, sulfur, nitrogen, zinc, iron, molybdenum, and sulfur.

Delayed Flowering: Fertilization is delayed by sulfur, nitrogen, and molybdenum deficiencies.

Necrosis: This refers to the death of plant tissues, which is often caused by deficiencies of Ca, Mg, Cu, and K.

Stunted plant growth: The main cause is a lack of sulfur, and Cu.

Inhibition of cell division: This symptom results from deficiency of N, K, S, Mo