Biological Functions, Uptake and Transport of Essential Nutrients in Relation to Plant Growth

Abstract

Plant nutrition takes care of the interrelationship between soil nutrients and plant growth. The role of nutrients in plant growth and physiology is dealt in this chapter in its maximum possible extent including the details on essential nutrients, their physiological roles, uptake and assimilation, nutritional disorders, the availability of nutrients in soil and their movement to plant roots and availability to plants by different modes of absorption. Every nutrient plays an indispensable role in carrying out physiological functions of plants enabling proper plant growth, the deficiency of which leads to particular disorders. Some nutrients are needed in larger quantities and some smaller but still essential for a plant to complete its life cycle. The primary roles of major nutrients in plant growth and physiology are widely studied and well documented. The functions of beneficial elements in plant nutrition may be investigated further. Soil, a complex substrate, acts as a storehouse of nutrients and water for plant growth. Plants have extensive root system for the nutrient uptake from the soil. However, the availability of all these nutrients in soil may fluctuate depending on so many factors. From the soil, nutrients move towards the roots by following certain mechanisms of transport, which include mass flow, diffusion and root interception. The nutrients thus reaching the roots are absorbed by plants either actively by spending energy or passively by no involvement of energy. Hence, a better understanding on plant nutrition would help to enhance crop productivity and nutritional value for the burgeoning world population.