Short on nutrients
Plants need nutrients to function. They take them from the ground through the roots. Here you can read what nutrients a plant needs - and how the roots absorb nutrition from the soil.
Did you know that
Common plants like cabbage and rapeseed have roots that can go down to 3 meters in depth to find water and nutrition. Wheat roots may penetrate 2 meters into the ground. This has been measured at Forskningscenter Årslev.
Which substances use a plant
To live, plants need different substances:
Carbon, which the leaves absorb in the form of CO2 from the air, connects to water and converts to grape sugar via photosynthesis. The plant is made from grape sugar. One can call that plant's food.
Water (H2O), as the roots absorb from the ground
Nutrients - ie Other substances that the plant needs to function.
plant Roots
The roots of the plant must be able to two things: Anchor the plant so that it does not topple and soak up water and nutrients from the ground.
The roots grow all the time. The cells in the root tip divide so that they grow more - then they stretch - thus drilling themselves further and further down and into the ground.
A little bit behind the tip of the root grows small root hairs. They are quite thin, hair-shaped exposures on the outermost cells that cause the root to get a huge surface that is in contact with the ground. Through root hair, the plant can absorb both water and nutrients from the soil.
Nutrients
In the soil are nutrients that dissolve salts in the groundwater. Salts consist of a positive and a negative part that can be distinguished from what are called ions. That's what the plant is taking with the roots. If there are clay particles in the soil, they will attract the positive nutritional ions such as Potassium (K +), Magnesium (Mg ++) and Calcium (Ca ++). The plant root can pick up the positive nutrient ions on a clay particle, by replacing positive hydrogen ions (H +) for nutrient ions.
macronutrients
Some nutrients use the plants a lot - ie. More kilos per Hectare (1 hectare = 100 x 100 meters). They call you the macro nutrients. You can see them in a list below. Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are the most important. It's also those used in fertilizers in agriculture and in the gardens. It is called NPK fertilizer. N stands for nitrogen, P stands for phosphorus, K stands for potassium.
Nitrogen, also called nitrogen. The plants take it in the form of nitrate ion (NO3--)
Phosphorus that can also be spelled phosphorus. The plants take it in the form of the phosphate ion (PO4-)
Potassium. The plants take them as the positive potassium ion (K +)
Magnesium (Mg ++)
Calcium (Ca ++)
sulfur
micronutrients
Other nutrients, the plants should only use quite a few - few grams per day. Hectare (1 hectare = 100 x 100 meters). They are called micronutrients. Here is a list that is sorted by the most important:
Iron
manganese
Zinc
Copper
molybdenum
Should
chlorine
silicon
3 questions
How does the plant absorb nutrients?
How does the plant absorb carbon?
How does the plant occupy water?