Tag: essential and non-essential mineral elements

Hydroponics or soilless culture helps to know the essentiality of mineral elements, deficiency symptoms developed due to non-availability of particular nutrient, toxicity to plant when element is present in excess, possible interaction among different elements present in plants and role of essential element in the metabolism of plant.

Cultivation of plants by placing the roots in the nutrient solution (in complete absence of soil) is called hydroponics. It is necessary to aerate the solution to provide roots with adequate oxygen supply. The result obtained from soil-less culture may then be used to determine deficiencies under field conditions.

Heart rot in beet root is a deficiency in the minor, nonmobile element Boron, $B$. It shows necrotic cross-hatching inside the leaf petiole. Young leaves turn brown and die, resulting in a rosette of small dead leaves at the top of the beet. In the fleshy root, internal and external black spots of necrotic tissue develop.

Phosphorus deficiency is a plant disorder associated with an insufficient supply of phosphorus. Darker green leaves and purplish or red pigment can indicate a deficiency in phosphorus. It is most common in lower leaves that are older. This condition is associated with the accumulation of sugars in P-deficient plants. Stems are thinner and leave acquire a leathery texture and tend to curl upwards, sometimes shedding prematurely. 

Soil solution is very dilute $10^{-3}M$. It is in equilibrium with minerals adsorbed over colloidal particle.