Plant Nutrition

9 Macronutrients

• Carbon

• Oxygen

• Hydrogen

• Nitrogen

• sulfur

• phosphorus

• potassium

• calcium

  • magnesium

Nitrogen

Plants get their nitrogen from the soil in the form of nitrate and ammonium 

Deficiency of a mobile nutrient ex. N

Usually affects older organs more than young ones

Deficiency of a less mobile nutrient ex. Fe

Usually affects younger organs more than the older ones

Soil

Heterogeneous mixture of organic matter and mineral particles

Humus

Decomposing organisms, leaves, feces, etc.

Loams

Soils with a roughly even mix of sand, silt, and clay

Anions

Repelled by soil particle and easily leach deep into the soil out of reach of the roots

Nitrogen fixing bacteria

Convert nitrogen to ammonium

Rhizobia

• Special group of nitrogen fixing bacteria

• Live within nodules in the roots of legumes

Mycorrhizae

Modified roots consisting of mutualistic associations of fungi and roots

Hyphae

Long threads of cells that penetrate the substate

Ectomycorrhizae

• The mycelium forms a dense sheath over the surface of the root

• Hyphae penetrate the cortex

Endomycorrhizae

Hyphae that extend into the root and make small pockets in the cortical cells where arbuscles form

Epiphytes

Grow on other plants but don’t parasite them

Parasitic plants

Take nutrients from other plants or fungi and give nothing in return