Introduction
How Do Plants Get Nutrients? -The nutrients are the basic elements in the development of any organism in the living world. In this way, the plants also require nutrients for their growth. The nutrients play a key role in all kinds of organisms in performing their functions. The nutrition in plants gives them the ability to perform all their functions properly. If the nutrients are unavailable in the organism, like plants and animals, there is no structural functioning in daily life. For the growth of the plant, the nutrients give support to perform all the functions both internally and externally.
Nutrients
The elements that help in the upliftment of organisms like plants and animals are known as nutrients. The nutrients are in elements and the compounds that help in the growth of the plants and metabolic activities. Metabolic activities can be done with the help of the nutrients that are available from natural elements. For all the oxygen supplied to living organisms, nutrients play a key role in the existence of beings on Earth. The nutrients help in increasing the maturity level in leaves, fruits and flowers. The nutrients give the power when the insects are affecting the plants and help in the prevention of diseases in an easy way.
Plant Nutrition
The process of the chemical elements and compounds that can be helpful in the development of plants is known as plant nutrition. The nutrients supply the energy to perform the metabolic activities both externally and internally. Mostly, it gives the energy to perform the functions externally. Like human beings, the plants also require the nutrient elements in the process of growth.
If the lack of nutrients occurs, the plants will not survive, and this will cause the death of the plants. Based on much research, many scientists declared that plants also survive with the nutrients in the living process. The lack of nutrients to the plants causes the deficiency symptoms concern for the plants. The proper supply of nutrients gives the proper food and shelter to beings for their survival on Earth.
Classification OF Nutrients
The nutrients in plants can also be classified into two types like primary and secondary nutrients.
Primary Nutrients
The primary nutrients are
- Nitrogen
- Phosphorus
- Potassium
Nitrogen[N]
Functions: The nitrogen element has the ability to give the colour green to live, fresh, and healthy plants in the environment. And also, it helps in the promotion of the vegetative growth of the plants.
Deficiency Symptoms: If the lack of nitrogen happens in the plants, the colour changes to pale yellowish. It also restricts the growing process compared to the previous growing level. The leaves of the plants burn, and the margins are also damaged, like breakage occurs.
Example: Mostly plants like maize, banana, grapes, citrus, etc.
Phosphorus[P]
Functions: The phosphorus element helps in the formation of the root from the deep level of the seeds. Also, it stimulates the growth of the plant in an early stage. It also helps in maturity, which gives better growth. The seed production also increases, and the plant grows like a strong, sturdy structure.
Deficiency Symptoms: The lack of the phosphorus element gives the purple colour of the leaves. And also the root also grows in a small structure. It also decreases the maturity level in the production of growth. The development of the seeds and fruits was damaged and affected in poor conditions. The leaves also start dying from an early stage.
Example: Mostly in tomato, citrus, potato, and banana plants
Potassium[K]
Functions: Potassium has the ability to improve plant growth and restrict diseases in plants. It also helps in the production of carbohydrates that contain starchy content. This element helps in the root development in a strong way from the deep level of the root.
Deficiency Symptoms: The potassium deficiency symptoms are like growing in a slow and low environment. The margins of the leaves are damaged in older and newer leaves. The seeds and the fruits also develop in poor conditions, which has a bad effect on the plants.
Example: Mostly in potatoes, tomatoes, grapes, and citrus plants.
Secondary Nutrients
- Calcium
- Magnesium
- Sulfur
Calcium[Ca]
Functions: The element helps in the production of carbohydrates, which gives strength to the plants. And also gives a better structure to the plants from the root levels. It also helps the walls of the cells and the structure of the roots in a healthy way.
Deficiency Symptoms: The deficiency symptoms of calcium, like the margins of the new leaves, must be in a damaged condition. The blossoming nature is also in a premature condition for the plant. The structure of the stem is formed in a weak condition.
Example: Banana, tomato, potato, citrus
Magnesium[Mg]
Functions: Magnesium helps in the formation of chlorophyll in plants during the growing process. It also helps in the preparation of the starch in the plant. The formation of the oils and the fats also happens with the help of the magnesium element in the plants.
Deficiency Symptoms: The lack of magnesium causes the leaves to the yellow in the younger stage. The leaves also start growing at a thin level of structure. The death of the tissues happens when the magnesium element is lost in the plant. The upward curve of the leaves changes into a curved structure.
Example: citrus, potato, tomato, grape
Sulphur[S]
Functions: The sulphur helps in the development of the growth of the plants by performing the metabolic activities. The formation of oils and others, like starch, is formed with the help of the sulfur element.
Deficiency Symptoms: The leaves change colour from green to yellow when the lack of the sulphur element occurs. The tissues are also affected in some of the plants compared to other plants in those situations. The maturity levels also delay in the plants, and the spiral structure forms in the plants. Many diseases, like interveinal chlorosis disease, occur on the leaves of plants like corn and others.
Example: Banana, Potato, and Tomato plants.
Micro Nutrients
Due to the classification, there are micronutrients like;
- Zinc
- Iron
- Manganese
- Molybdenum
- Copper
- Borun
Zinc [Zn]
Functions: It contains several enzymes that help in the growth of the plant. It also helps in controlling the indole acetic acid, known as the growth regulator. This element must be present in plants like citrus, pomegranate, tomato, onion, beans, apple, cotton, rice, etc.
Deficiency Symptoms: The formation of the bud in the fruit starts at a reduced level in the plant. The length of the stem and the leaves also starts causing a decrease in the level due to the absence of the zinc element. The leaves get mottled, and the strips of the leaves are damaged, mostly in the corn leaves.
Example: Tomato, potato, citrus, grape plants.
Iron[Fe]
Functions: The main element that is helpful in the chlorophyll formation in plants. It also helps in the release of the energy from the starch and sugar content in the plants. The plants also reduce the growth like small plants in many days.
Deficiency Symptoms: Due to the absence of iron in the plants, the leaves start to turn the colour from green to yellow or white. Most of the younger leaves were damaged and fell due to a lack of iron. The veins in the leaves also turn from green to other colours, and they change their shape into a curly shape.
Examples: Potato, tomato. grape, citrus plants.
Copper[Cu]
Functions: The copper element is the main element that helps in the formation of vitamin A in the leaves. Also, it reduces the disease that is affecting the plants. And the copper element is also responsible for the removal of the toxic substances in the plants.
Deficiency Symptoms: The lack of copper reduces the process of plant growth and causes terminal growth. And most of the terminal shoots occur in the trees and may cause the downfall of the plant. The pigmentation process also occurs in weak conditions, and the leaf margins get damaged. The gum pockets form in the central part of the fruit, like oranges to the absence of the copper element.
Examples: Mostly in the citrus and tomato plants.
Manganese[Mn]
Functions: The iron element takes the help of the manganese element in the formation of chlorophyll in the plants. The manganese element is one of the helpful elements with other elements in their working process of the growing process.
Deficiency Symptoms: The deficiency symptoms that can be caused by the manganese element are the young leaves that are damaged with interveinal chlorosis. The colour of the leaf veins changes from green to a pale colour due to the absence of the manganese element. The development also decreases in plants like oats, and in wheat, the interventricular white streaks occur.
Examples: Barley, Wheat, oats, potato, citrus, tomato, potato plants
Molybdenum[Mo]
Functions: The molybdenum helps in the growing and it is required in the utilisation of the nitrogen element in plants. This element also helps in the transformation of many elements into amino acids. It also helps legumes in the process of formation and fixation of nitrogen in the atmosphere.
Deficiency Symptoms: The Molybdenum element causes a vigorous change in the plants. And also, the growing process stops with the combination of nitrogen in the working process. The yellow spots also formed in the plants like citrus, and the cauliflower plants were also damaged.
Examples: Tomato, citrus, cauliflower plants.
Boron[B]
Functions: The element helps in the usage of calcium in growing plants. The small amount is acceptable for the development of nutrients for the plants. It also helps other elements in the formation of plant growth in the process.
Deficiency Symptoms: It causes the cancellation of the terminal growth of the plants and leads to the death of the plants. The production of the buds also stops their development in the growing process. The leaves also change the shape into a curved shape and the thickness of the leaves also damages. The soft nature of the leaves and the fruits, and the bud formation, also reduces in the process. The pollination and the flowering also stop in the plants due to a deficiency of the Boron element.
Examples: Citrus, potato, tomato, and grape plants.
Macro Nutrients
The elements that can be taken from the soil, and many of the elements can be taken from the atmosphere. The elements that the plants get for the development of the growing plants. The macro nutrients are nothing but it is in large quantities that can be compared to the micro nutrients.
- Carbon: In the air, the element carbon takes the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to sustain the Earth. It also helps in performing various functions in the growing plants.
- Hydrogen: In the photosynthesis process, the water comes out through the green plant due to the availability of the hydrogen element.
- Oxygen: Oxygen is available in the atmosphere, and it is also known as one of the forms of air. The green plants release oxygen through the process of photosynthesis in the plants.
Significance of Macro, Micro Nutrients
In daily life, the nutrients are considered important, while in the survival of the Earth. While in organisms like human beings and plants, animals can survive with the nutrients that can be obtained from nature. The macro and micro nutrients perform the various functions that can be helpful in the development of plants on Earth. It helps in performing the absorption of elements and the reduction of elements like oxygen, hydrogen, which can be helpful to human beings.
These nutrients perform the various metabolic activities that can be related to plant nutrition, like plant cells and enzymes, etc. They also interact with the biomolecules and the enzymes to make healthy plants. The Leaves, fruits, and flowers get damaged due to the absence of the macro and micro nutrients of the plants. It also gives nourishment to nature, which can be helpful in the growth of the leaves, buds, flowers and the fruits.
Conclusion
Many people were filled with doubt, like How do plants get nutrients? while thinking deeply in many situations. The plants get nutrients with the help of the elements that can be present in the atmosphere. And also the nutrients help in the development of the growing plants with performing various functions. The metabolic activities can also be done with the help of the elements that can be placed in the soil, too. If the lack of elements occurs, the fruits and flowers delay their process during the deficiency symptoms.