SOIL-PLANT

RELATIONSHIP
Soul
Of
Infinite
Life

Healthy soil is the foundation of the food system. It

produces healthy crops that in turn nourish people.
ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS IN
SOIL AND THEIR FORMS
Factors affecting nutrient availability to plants

1. External Factors
a. Concentration of the elements
b. Moisture content of the soil
c. Aeration
d. Temperature
e. pH
2. Internal Factors
f. Cell wall
g. Stage of development
EXTERNAL FACTORS
1. Concentration of the elements
The relative concentration of an element
influences the absorption. The higher the
concentration of a nutrient, the greater is its
availability.
2. Moisture content of the soil
The nutrients are readily taken by the plant
when they are present in soil solution.
Therefore, soil moisture is an important factor
influencing the absorption of nutrients. Water
helps in transport of nutrients to the root
surface.
3. Aeration

Better aeration of the soil provides sufficient

oxygen for the respiration of roots

4. Temperature

Temperature has to be favorable both for root

and shoot growth and also for microorganisms
to increase nutrient availability.
5. pH
Soil reaction is an important external factor
influencing absorption through its role in
nutrient availability.
INTERNAL FACTORS
1. Cell wall
Cell wall is differentially
permeable and
selectively absorbs
particular cations and
anions.
2. Stage of development
ROLES OF ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS IN
PLANT NUTRITION

 Plant nutrients

18 essential elements
are known to be
important to plant
growth and survival.
PLANT NUTRITION
FUNCTIONS
AND
DEFICIENCY
SYMPTOMS OF
NUTRIENTS
NITROGEN
• Functions
• Deficiency symptoms
PHOSPHORUS
• Functions
• Deficiency symptoms
POTASSIUM
• Functions
• Deficiency symptoms
CALCIUM
• Functions
• Deficiency symptoms
MAGNESIUM
• Functions
• Deficiency symptoms
SULFUR
• Functions
• Deficiency symptoms
BORON
• Functions
• Deficiency symptoms
CHLORINE
• Functions

Required for the photosynthetic reactions

involved in O2 evolution
• Deficiency symptoms
COPPER
• Functions
• Deficiency symptoms
IRON
• Functions
• Deficiency symptoms
MANGANESE
• Functions
• Deficiency symptoms
MOLYBDENUM
• Functions
• Deficiency symptoms
ZINC
• Functions
• Deficiency symptoms
NICKEL
• Functions

Constituent of urease and hydrogenase

 • Deficiency symptoms

Due to accumulation of
urea in leaves, necrosis
of leaf tips occur.
COBALT
• Functions

component of a number of enzymes and

increases the drought resistance of seeds.
In legumes, cobalt is important for nitrogen
fixation by the bacteria that associate with
legumes.
• Deficiency symptoms

Cobalt deficiency may result in

reduced seed germination and
reduced plant growth. It may
present as reddening of the
leaves, stems or petioles.

In legumes, cobalt deficiency

may result in yellowing leaves or
small root nodules.
Each of them
counts….
NUTRIENT MOBILITY IN PLANTS

 Mobile nutrients
-can be translocated, from older to younger
leaves
-the deficiency can be seen on older leaves
 Moderately mobile and Immobile nutrients
- cannot be translocated
- the deficiency can be seen on younger leaves
Very mobile

- Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium and

Magnesium
- deficiency symptoms appear first in older
leaves and quickly spread throughout the
plant
Moderately mobile

- Sulfur, Iron, Copper, Manganese,

Molybdenum, Zinc
- deficiency symptoms appear first in new
growth and do not readily translocate to old
growth
 MECHANISM OF NUTRIENT
UPTAKE

Prior to absorption, nutrients reach the root by three

mechanism:
1. Mass flow – movement with the water flow. Most
prominent.
2. Diffusion – movement in response to a
concentration gradient. Slow.
3. Root interception – root extension. Very important
to find new nutrient sources.
Mass flow
- transpiration induced convection flow is
termed as mass flow
- movement of plant nutrients in flowing soil
solution
Figure 1. Water transpiration and mass flow
Factors affecting Mass flow
1. Soil water content
 Drier the soil, lesser is the mass flow induced
nutrient movement
2. Temperature
 Low temperature reduces transpiration and
therefore movement as the volume of water
used gets reduced drastically
3. Size of root system
 Both the amount of water and volume of soil it
comes from, get affected by the size of root
system
Diffusion
- movement of nutrients through water from
an area of high concentration to an area
of low concentration
Root interception
- aka “contact exchange”
- encounter of nutrients via root growth in
yet unoccupied soil
Law of the Minimum and
Mitscherlich’s Equation
Factors Affecting Plant Growth
Climate Soil Crop
Precipitation Organic matter Species/ Variety
-Quantity Texture Planting date
-Distribution Structure Seeding rate
Temperature Humidity CEC Seeding geometry
Light Base Saturation Seed quality
-Quantity Topography Evapo-transpiration
-Intensity Slope Water availability
-Duration Soil Temperature Nutrition
Altitude Latitude Tillage Pests
Wind Drainage -Insects
-Velocity Root zone depth -Weeds
-Distribution -Diseases
CO2 conc. Harvest efficiency
PRINCIPLE OF LIMITING FACTORS

• The level of crop production can be no

greater than that allowed by the most
limiting of the essential plant growth
factors.
LIEBIG’S LAW OF MINIMUM

- Principle developed
by Carl Sprengel
(1828)
- Popularized by Justus
von Liebig
LAW OF THE MINIMUM

von Liebig postulated that the

yield of a plant would be
directly proportional to the
most limiting growth factor,
even if several other growth
factors might be limiting to a
lesser degree.
 MITSCHERLICH’S EQUATION
If a growth factor is deficient (not necessarily the most
limiting as identified in Liebig’s “Law of the Minimum”),
increasing the level of the growth factor present can
increase yield.
The yield increase will be proportional to the
difference between maximum yield obtained by
adding the growth factor and yield at the given level of
the growth factor.
LAW OF DIMINISHING RETURNS
Because the crop response was always less from each
successive increment of growth factor, the relationship was
also referred to as the “Law of diminishing returns”.
If a growth factor is limiting, growth response will be
greatest for the first increment added and least for the last
increment added.
Example:
Response to satisfying a hunger for ice cream or a thirst for
water. The first spoonful of ice cream or swallow of water
will usually be the most satisfying. Each additional
spoonful of ice cream or swallow of water will be less
satisfying than the previous, until at last there is no
satisfaction from additional ice cream or water.
CAUSES OF DECLINE IN SOIL FERTILITY
 Reasons for decline in soil fertility

Introduction
Soil fertility is a component of
overall soil productivity that
deals with its available nutrient
status, and its ability to provide
nutrients out of its own
reserves and through external
applications for crop
production.
 Causes of decline in soil fertility

1. Loss of top soil by erosion

2. Nutrient mining
3. Physical degradation of soil (poor structure,
compaction, crusting and waterlogging etc.
4. Decrease in organic matter content and soil
bioactivity
5. Loss of nutrients through various routes
6. Soil acidification, salinization and
alkalinization
7. Inefficient soil management
8. Soil pollution
1. Loss of top soil by erosion

The top soil is rich in nutrients and

organic matter. Loss of the fertile
topsoil components through erosion
by water and wind results in
decreased fertility.

Soil erosion is very common in many

parts of the country.

The basic causes of soil erosion are

the result of human activities such as
deforestation, overgrazing and poor
soil management.
2. Nutrient mining

Removal of more nutrients by

crops than added through manures
or fertilizers is called as nutrient
mining or depletion.

At present, nutrient mining is

a major threat to productive
sustainable farming.
It is a widespread
problem in low- and
medium input
agriculture.
Nutrient mining is accelerated
by imbalanced fertilization.
3. Physical degradation of soil

Physical degradation of soil (poor

structure, compaction, crusting and
waterlogging) reduces soil fertility.

Soil structure is a variable soil property

that, from an agronomic point of view,
can improve or deteriorate.

High disturbance of soils (tillage) often

results in some structural deterioration,
which can be reversed to different
degrees.
 Soil compaction decreases the
number of large pores (> 100 μm)
and, as these are the ones through
which roots grow most easily,
compaction can have an adverse
effect on root growth (see Figure).

Waterlogging causes loss Figure (on the left)

of N through (a) Root growth in a soil with no
mechanical impedance problems
denitrification of nitrate. (b) Root growth in a soil with
mechanical impedance problems
4. Decrease in organic matter content and soil
bioactivity
The decreased levels of organic matter
causes a strong reduction in soil fertility
as it plays several roles in soil.

Decreased organic matter levels results

in poor physical , chemical and
biological properties.

The microbial activities in soil decrease due to

reduced levels of organic matter. These
microbial activities play significant role in
nutrient availability and recycling.
5. Loss of nutrients through various routes

Losses of nutrients from soil can be

caused by soil erosion, leaching,
crop removal or in the form of
gases (as in case of N and to a
lesser extent S).

Nutrient removal by crop products

compared with external nutrient inputs
can be similar, higher or lower. Negative
nutrient balances result where nutrient
removals exceed nutrient additions.
Excessive rainfall, or excessive irrigation,
resulting in the passage of water through the
soil profile through deep percolation will
carry with it soluble nutrients, particularly
nitrate, sulphate and boron, etc.

Waterlogging causes loss of

N through denitrification of
nitrates.

Ammonia volatilization from urea

and some ammonium-containing
fertilizers results in losses of
nitrogen from soil.
Picture: Losses of nutrients through different routes from soil
Source:
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2009/10/12/fixing-the-nitrogen-cycle-in-climate-modeling/
 6. Soil acidification, salinization and
alkalinization

Acidification, salinization or
alkalinization causes reduction in soil
fertility, and eventually lead to problems
of nutrient deficiencies, toxicities and
imbalances.

Factors responsible for soil

degradation are generally interrelated.
Iron deficiency in rice at
higher soil pH
7. Inefficient soil management

Poor or inefficient soil management

results in decreased soil fertility.

Improper crop rotations followed may

decrease the soil fertility tremendously.

Excessive soil tillage leads to erosion

of the soil, which leads to reduced soil
fertility.
8. Soil pollution

Soil pollution caused by

indiscriminate use of agro-
chemicals and heavy metals
reduces fertility of soil by affecting
the soil biological properties.

The growth of useful soil

organisms is adversely affected,
which eventually causes a decline
in biological soil fertility.