CROP NUTRITION

To study the essential nutrients in plant growth Crops

depend on extrinsic and intrinsic factors for their growth and
environment to provide them with basic necessities for
photosynthesis. These essential plant growth factors include:
These essential plant growth factors include:
 Light
Heat
Air
 Water
 Nutrients
 Physical support
CROP YIELD AND QUALITY DEPENDS UPON THE ESSENTIAL GROWTH FACTORS
 The principle of limiting factors
If any one factor, or combination of factors, is in limited supply,
plant growth will be adversely affected. The importance of each of
the plant growth factors and the proper combination of these
factors for normal plant growth is best described by the principle
of limiting factors.
This principle states: "The level of crop production can be no
greater than that allowed by the most limiting of the essential
plant growth factors." The principle of limiting factors can be
compared to that of a barrel having staves of different lengths with
each stave representing a plant growth factor.
Crop yield and quality depends upon the essential growth factors
and the many interrelated soil, plant, environmental and
agronomic factors or variables. Within this system, some of these
factors cannot be controlled; others can be controlled and are
manageable.
The principle of limiting factors can be compared to that of a
barrel having staves of different lengths
 FAO has listed seven important soil qualities which affect crop growth as given below.
Soil Qualities Soil Characteristics

SQ1 Nutrient Soil texture, soil organic carbon, soil pH, total exchangeable
availability bases
SQ2 Nutrient Soil Organic carbon, Soil texture, base saturation, cation
availability exchange capacity of soil and of clay fraction
SQ3 Rooting conditions Soil textures, bulk density, coarse fragments, vertic soil
properties and soil phases affecting root penetration and
soil. Soil textures, bulk density, coarse fragments, vertic soil
properties and soil phases affecting root penetration and soil

SQ4 Oxygen availability Soil drainage and soil phases affecting soil drainage
to roots
SQ5 Excess salts. Soil salinity, soil sodicity and soil phases influencing salt
conditions
SQ6 Toxicity Calcium carbonate and gypsum
SQ7 Workability Soil texture, effective soil depth/volume, and soil phases
(constraining field constraining soil management (soil depth, rock outcrop,
management) stoniness, gravel/concretions and hardpans)
 Soil fertility and productivity
Soil fertility
“Soil fertility is the ability of the soil to supply essential plant
nutrients during growth period of the plants, without toxic
concentration of any nutrients”. i.e “the capacity of soil to supply
nutrient in available to crop”.
Soil productivity: “Soil productivity is ability of soil to produce a
particular crop or sequence of crops under a specified mgt system”
i.e the crop producing capacity of soil”.
All the productive soils are fertile but all the fertile soils may not
be productive.
Sometimes even if the soil is fertile, they are subjected to drought
or other unsatisfactory growth factors or management practices.
 History of development of soil fertility
Francis Bacon (1591- 1624) suggested that the principle nourishment of plants
was water and the main purpose of the soil was to keep plants erect and to
protect from heat and cold.

Jan Baptiste Van Helmont (1577 – 1644) was reported that water was sole
nutrient of plants.

Robert Boyle (1627 – 1691) an England scientist confirmed the findings of Van
Helmont and proved that plant synthesise salts, spirits and oil etc from H 2O.

Anthur Young (1741 – 1820) an English agriculturist conducted pot experiment

using Barley as a test crop under sand culture condition. He added charcoal,
train oil, poultry dung, spirits of wine, oyster shells and numerous other
materials and he concluded that some of the materials produced higher plant
growth.

Priestly (1800) established the essentiality of O for the plant growth.

 History of development of soil fertility
J.B. Boussingault (1802-1882) French chemist conducted field
experiment and maintained balance sheet. He was first scientist to
conduct field experiment. He is considered as father of field
experiments.
Justus Von Liebig (1835) suggested that
a. Most of the carbon in plants comes from the CO2 of the
atmosphere.
b. Hydrogen and O2 comes from H2O.
c. Alkaline metals are needed for neutralization of acids formed by
plants as a result of their metabolic activities.
d. Phosphorus is necessary for seed formation.
e. Plant absorb every thing from the soil but excrete from their
roots those materials that are not essential.
 The law of minimum, stated by Liebig in 1862
The law of minimum, stated by Liebig in 1862, is a simple but logical guide for
predicting crop response to fertilization. This law states that, “the level of plant
production cannot be greater than that allowed by the most limiting of the
essential plant growth factors”. The contributions made by Liebig to the
advancement of agriculture were monumental and he is recognized as the father
of Agricultural chemistry.
J.B. Lawes and J. H. Gilbert (1843) established permanent manurial experiment at
Rothemsted Agricultural experiment station at England. They conducted field
experiments for twelve years and their findings were
a. Crop requires both P and K, but the composition of the plant ash is no
measure of the amounts of these constituents required by the plant.
b. No legume crop require N. without this element, no growth will be obtained
regardless of the quantities of P and K present. The amount of ammonium
contributed by the atmosphere is insufficient for the needs of the crop.
c. Soil fertility can be maintained for some years by chemical fertilizers.
d. The beneficial effect of fallow lies in the increases in the available N
compounds in the soil.
 Essential and Beneficial elements
Essential and Beneficial elements
“A mineral element is considered to be essential for plant growth and
development if the element is involved in plant metabolic Functions and the
plant cannot complete its life cycle without the element”.
There are seventeen essential elements required for plant growth viz., C, H, O,
N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, B, Mo, Cl, Ni,
The following is the essentiality criteria described by Arnon and Stout (1939)
1. A plant must be unable to complete its life cycle in the absence of the
mineral element.
2. The function of the element must not be replaceable by another mineral
element.
3. The element must be directly involved in plant metabolism.
Beneficial Nutrients/Elements:
Beneficial elements are the mineral elements that stimulate the growth and
exhibit beneficial effects at very low concentration or which are essential only
for certain plant species or under specific conditions are called as “beneficial
elements”. eg. Na, Va, Co,Si
 Essentiality of the elements established by
Carbon : Priestly (1800)
Nitrogen : :Theodore De saussure (1804
Ca, Mg, K, S : : Carl sprengel (1839)
Phosphorus : Von Liebig (1844)
Iron (Fe) : : E. Greiss (1844)
Manganese (Mn) : : J.S. Hargue (1922)
Zinc(Zn) : : Sommer and Lipman (1926)
Copper (Cu) : : Sommer, Lipman and Mc Kenny (1931)
Molybdenum (Mo) : Arnon and Stout (1939)
Sodium (Na) : : Brownell and wood (1957)
Cobalt(Co) : : Ahmed and Evans (1959)
Boron(B) : : Warring ton (1923)
Chlorine (Cl ) : Broyer (1954)
Nickel Brown et.al.(1987)
 Forms of nutrients in soil and their functions in plants
Primary or major nutrients: are those nutrients required
relatively in large quantities by the plants for its growth
and development. Ex: N, P and K.
Secondary nutrients: are those nutrients which are
required by plants in moderate amounts and given
secondary importance in its supply and management.
Ex: Ca, Mg and S.
Micronutrients: The nutrients which are utilized by
plants in relatively smaller quantities for their growth and
development, but these are equally important &
essential to plants as macronutrients. Ex: Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu,
B, Mo, Cl and Ni.
 Plant Nutrients
Sixteen elements are considered essential for plants. They are
grouped based on their relative abundance in plants.

Many non-essential elements are also found in plants that

account for over 60 elements.
Al is absorbed when soil solution is rich in Al ions.

When plant materials is burned, the remaining plant ash contains

all the essential and non-essential elements except C, H, O, N, S.

Macro nutrients are absorbed in 30-100 times in proportion to

that of micronutrients.
Essential Nutrients
The plant content of mineral elements is affected by many factors
and their concentration in crops varies considerably.
 Plant Nutrients: Concentration, Mobility, forms, functions
A mineral element is considered essential to plant growth and
development if the element is involved in plant metabolic functions
and the plant cannot complete its life cycle without the element.
Terms commonly used to describe level of nutrients in plants are
Deficient
When the concentration of an essential element is low enough to
limit yield severely and distinct deficiency symptoms are visible
then that element is said to be deficient. Extreme deficiencies can
result in plant death. With moderate or slight deficiencies,
symptoms may not be visible, but yields will still be reduced.
Critical range
The nutrient concentration in the plant below which a yield
response to added nutrient occurs. Critical level or ranges vary
among plants and nutrients but occur somewhere in the transition
between nutrient deficiency and sufficiency.
Relationship between nutrient concentration and yield
 Relationship between nutrient concentration and yield
Sufficient
Concentration range in which added nutrients will not increase yield but can
increase nutrient concentration. The term luxury consumption is used to describe
nutrient absorption by the plant that does not influence yield.
Excessive or toxic
When the concentration of essential or other elements is high enough to reduce
plant growth and yield then it is said to be toxic. Excessive nutrient concentration
can cause an imbalance in other essential nutrients, which also can reduce yield
Concentration and plants yield
Yield is severely affected when a nutrient is deficient. When deficiency is
corrected, growth increases more rapidly. Under severe deficiency, rapid increase
in growth with added nutrient can cause a small decrease in nutrient
concentration due to dilution effect. This is called the Steenberg effect
Luxury consumption
Nutrient sufficiency occurs over a wide concentration range, wherein yield is
unaffected. Increase in nutrient concentration above the critical range indicates
that the plant is absorbing nutrient above that needed for maximum yield.
This luxury consumption is common in most plants. Elements absorbed in
excessive quantities can reduce plant yield directly through toxicity or indirectly
by reducing concentration of other nutrient below critical ranges.
FUNCTIONS OF NUTRIENTS IN PLANTS
FUNCTIONS OF NUTRIENTS IN PLANTS
FUNCTIONS OF NUTRIENTS IN PLANTS
 Forms of elements in Mineral soil
Macro elements are available in (1) Solid (2) Cations (3) Cations in soil solution