NEET UG@ Botany Mineral Nutrition

Most chemical elements that are ingested by organisms are in the form of simple compounds. Plants absorb dissolved elements in soils, which are subsequently ingested by the herbivores and omnivores that eat them, and the elements move up the food chain. Larger organisms may also consume soil (geophagia) or use mineral resources, such as salt licks, to obtain limited minerals unavailable through other dietary sources.

Criteria for Essentiality

• The element is mostly necessary for supporting normal growth and reproduction. In the absence of the element, the plants do not complete their life cycle or set the seeds.

• The requirement of the element must be specific and not replaceable by another element. In other words, deficiency of any one element cannot be met by supplying some other element.

• The element must be directly involved in the metabolism of the plant.