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Plant NutritionWhat you need to know |
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Plant NutritionGreen plants do not eat, so they have to make their own food, through the process of Photosynthesis. During photosynthesis, plants join Carbon dioxide from the air with Water from the soil to make Glucose and Oxygen. The energy to drive this process comes from light which is absorbed by the green pigment Chlorophyll. This can be shown using an equation: Carbon Dioxide + Water —› Glucose + Oxygen Plant leaves are the main photosynthetic organ and they are perfectly adapted for this. Leaf adaptaions for photosynthesisThe diagram below shows the different layers of cells (tissues) in a leaf and their functions in photosynthesis. T/S leaf goes here Fate of the end products of photosynthesisGlucose made in photosynthesis can not be stored as it is because its soluble. It is converted into a number of products: 1. Starch- Glucose is changed into starch which is stored in the leaf, seeds and at times in the roots. You can test a leaf with Iodine solution to find out if contains starch
Inorganic nutrientsBesides the food which plants make for themselves, they also need some chemical elements from the ground. These are major ones are N, P, K, and Mg: Nitrogen- for growth i.e. used to make proteins, which are enzymes that speed up growth reactions Phosphorous- For good root development Potassium- For flowering and fruiting Magnesium- To make Chlorophyll
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