Gabriela Harney-Davila

Plant Physiology Lab

Mineral Nutrition & Nutrition Deficiency

10/11/2017

Introduction

Plants require six macronutrients and eight micronutrients each playing a key role in the

plant life cycle (Maathuis & Diatloff 2013; White and Brown 2010). The mineral nutrients are

obtained from the soil. The mineral nutrients required by plants are nitrogen, phosphorous,

sulfur, iron, manganese, boron, calcium, magnesium, copper, zinc, chlorine, nickel, and

molybdenum are essential to growth, chemical reactions, and carrying out functions (Wallace

1946). For example, phosphorous is needed for biological production of DNA, RNA, and

phospholipids as well as for healthy root growth (RSC 2017). Another example is potassium

which promotes growth of fruit, flowers, and hardiness to the plant, controls water uptake

through the roots, photosynthesis, and respiration (RSC 2017). Plant growth can be restricted

when there isnt enough or too much of one or more of the nutrients or the levels of the mineral

nutrients are out of balance (Schulte and Kelling n.d.). A shortage of any nutrients can greatly

affect the growth and will display symptoms of the deficiency.

Engles et al. (2012) found the yield of crop plants is controlled by biomass production

which is dependent on photosynthetic activity of leaves, which is dependent on mineral nutrients.

White and Brown (2010) shared similar results, where crop production was limited by low

phytoavailability of these macro and micronutrients or by the large amounts of toxic elements. In

geographic areas where essential nutrients are limited, fertilizer is then used to obtain higher
yield of plant production (White and Brown 2010). However, the use of nitrogen and

phosphorous fertilizers in agriculture contributes largely to eutrophication process in lakes,

ponds, etc. allowing the water to become toxic due to harmful algal blooms that can impact

human health, aquatic ecosystems, and the economy (EPA 2017).

Wallace (1946) ran a similar experiment to that of Engles, Kirkby, and White. Wallace

(1946) used visual diagnosis, the recognition of characteristic deficiency symptoms, to determine

the deficiency of the unknown. Symptoms of the deficiency from any of the mineral nutrients are

specific and can be seen in the stems, fruits, leaves, blossoms, and roots (Wallace 1946). The

purpose of this experiment is to demonstrate symptoms of mineral deficiency exhibited by

tomatoes and corn plants grown in various nutrient solutions and to become acquainted with the

method of "slop culture" by use of known nutrient symptoms on growing plants. It was

hypothesized that as macronutrients and micronutrients became unavailable to the plant one at a

time, plant growth would be affected based on the specific removed mineral nutrient.

Results
 Symptoms of deficiency in tomato
Treatment major symptoms
Stunted growth, uniform chlorosis beginning on
older leaves, necrosis on older leaves before
Nitrogen (N) younger. Plant was light green in color.

Stunted growth, stunted leaves, purple pigmented

Phosporous (P) dots, more necrosis than chlorosis.

Chlorosis and purple pigments in leaves and veins.

Calcium (Ca) Stem and petiole were wilted, necrosis, and death.

Necrosis at end tips of leaves and expanding,

Sulfur (S) growth in height, small uniform chlorisis, and death.
Some chlorosis in plant with veins still green,
growth in height but limited leaf growth, brown
Manganese (Mg) dead spots scattered.

Chlorosis in younger leaves at the base and in

veins, apical growth shorter versus complete, green
Iron (Fe) leaves, small necrosis on younger leaves.
Chlorosis occurred in older leaves at tips and
scattered spots, stunted growth, dry, and necrosis
Potassium (K) spots near veins.
Stunted height and leaves, necrosis through out,
Unknown and dead

Large green leaves and thick stem, tall, healthy,

Complete and numerous branching of leaves

Table 1. Major symptoms of deficiencies observed in the tomato plants. Each tomato plant had

all nutrients required for growth given minus the nutrient treatment.
 Symptoms of deficiency in corn
Treatment major symptoms
chlorosis of leaves, stunted growth, yellow at tip of
leaves and progessing along the center of the leaf, and
Nitrogen (N) necrosis at tips.

Necrosis at some tips and mature leaves, stem growth

Phosporous (P) thin, and stalks stunted

Very stunted growth with barely any leaves, necrosis

Calcium (Ca) at end of leaves with chlorosis.
Chlorosis near veins of younger leaves, some leaves
still green, necrosis on the edges, and short skinny
Sulfur (S) stalks

Necrosis at edge of leaves, mature leaves have striped

Manganese (Mg) chlorosis and purple pigment.

Yellowing of leaves furthest form stalk, and chlorosis

Iron (Fe) with green veins.

Yellowing at tips on lower leaves and necorisis

Potassium (K) scattered near tips
Necrosis and chlorosis on leaves, wilting leaves,
Unknown browning of leaves, and dead.

Green, healthy, growth in height and stalk thickness,

Complete and abundance of leaves.

Table 2. Major symptoms of deficiencies observed in corn plants. Each corn plant had all

nutrients required for growth given minus the nutrient treatment.

 Effects of Removed Nutrients on Mean Tomato Shoot Length (cm)
Nurtient Removed
Groups Nitrogen (N) Phosporous (P) Calcium (Ca) Sulfur (S) Manganese (Mg) Iron (Fe) Potassium (K) Unknown Complete
2 2.7 dead dead 5.5 7 11.43 3.1 dead 7.25
3 3.5 dead dead 5.3 8 6.858 7.5 dead 8.5
4 3.1 dead dead 3 6 14 4.8 dead 15
Mean 3.1 dead dead 4.6 7 10.9 5.1 dead 10.25
Table 3. Mean shoot length (cm) of tomato plants affected by the removed nutrient for the three

groups. Tomato plant with treatments of missing phosphorous and the unknown were dead so

data was unavailable to collect.

Effects of Removed Nutrients on Mean Corn Leaf Length (cm)

Nutrients Removed
Groups Nitrogen (N) Phosporous (P) Calcium (Ca) Sulfur (S) Manganese (Mg) Iron (Fe) Potassium (K) Unknown Complete
1 10 20 7.4 9.4 17.7 19.7 19.9 4.3 32
5 17.4 25 10 11.6 29.4 17 17 5.2 34.5
6 17.9 21 2 20.1 24.3 19 15.4 0 31
Mean 15.1 22 6.5 13.7 23.8 18.6 17.4 3.2 32.5
Table 4. Mean leaf length (cm) of corn plants affected by the removed nutrient for the three

groups. Leaf length for the unknown treatment of group 6 was highly stunted so a zero was

placed for measurement.

Figure 1. Effects of removed nutrient on final tomato mean shoot length in cm. No phosphorous,

calcium, and unknown were dead so shoot length wasnt measured.

Figure 2. Effects of removed nutrient on final corn mean leaf length in cm.

Discussion

The hypothesis was that as macronutrients and micronutrients became unavailable to

the plant one at a time, plant growth would be affected based on the specific removed mineral

nutrient. The hypothesis was accepted, because deficiency symptoms occurred to the both tomato

and corn plants based on the mineral nutrient removed which affected their growth (Table 1,

Table 2, Table 3, and Table 4). Mean tomato shoot length and corn leaf length were measured to

observe effects of removed mineral nutrient on growth (Figure 1 and Figure 2), which further

supports the hypothesis that a removed mineral nutrient affects growth on tomato and corn

plants.

Both tomato and corn plant showed similar symptom deficiencies with some

variations among the two species. Tomato and corn experienced necrosis, chlorosis, and change
in the rate of growth from the removal of mineral nutrients. Nitrogen, potassium, and sulfur had

the most impact on tomato growth. Removal of nitrogen (N) from the tomato impacted shoot

length with a mean length of 3.1 cm (Table 1, Table 3, and Figure 1), making it the shortest of

the five mineral nutrients removed excluding phosphorous (P) and calcium (Ca) due to death so

shoot length was not included. Without nitrogen available, the tomato plant had stunted growth,

uniform chlorosis in mature leaves and the plant color was light green. Nitrogens primary

function is to provide amino groups in amino acids which controls energy homeostasis,

signaling, protein regulation, and is a major component of chlorophyll (Maathuis & Diatloff

2013). Removed potassium (K) from tomato had second shorted shoot length with mean of 5.1

cm compared to nitrogen (Table 3 and Figure 1). Removal of potassium in tomato plant led to

chlorosis in younger leaves and veins with necrosis spotting near the veins. Potassium is

responsible for enzyme activation along with rate of reaction, regulation opening and closing of

the stomates, which is essential for photosynthesis (Armstrong 1998). Removal of sulfur from

tomato plant led to third shortest mean shoot length, 4.6 cm. The removal of sulfur led to

necrosis at the end of the tips and expanding inward, small uniform chlorosis, and death. Sulfur

is responsible providing aid in the formations of protein structures, primary and secondary

metabolism (Droux 2004). The control was the complete treatment to compare to other

treatments as well as a visual example. Phosphorous (P), calcium (Ca), and unknown treatment

for tomato were dead and couldnt be analyzed due to mistakes of three treatments not being

supplied the specific solutions. Iron (Fe) removal had the least impact on plant growth with mean

shoot length of 10.9 cm versus 10.25 cm of the complete. Symptoms of iron deficiency were

chlorosis in younger leaves starting at base and veins with necrosis, and apical growth but shorter

than complete. Iron didnt impact growth as much as the others previously listed because one it
is a micronutrient so small amounts are needed. According to Rout and Sahoo (2015), iron is

involved in the synthesis of chlorophyll, and it is essential for the maintenance of chloroplast

structure and function.

With the corn plants, the removal of calcium (Ca), sulfur (s), and nitrogen nutrients

impacted leaf length growth the most. Removal of calcium from corn impacted leaf length to 6.5

cm, the shortest versus the complete which had 32.5 cm leaf length making it the longest (Table

4 and Figure 2). The removal of calcium nutrient from the corn plant led to serious stunted

growth with barely any leaves, stem growth was thin, and the stalk was stunted. The function of

calcium is to hold together the cell wall to avoid distorted growth in root tips, young leaves, and

shoot tips which occurs when calcium is unavailable (Buechel 2017). Removal of nitrogen led to

chlorosis of leaves, stunted growth, and necrosis at the tips of the leaves. Sulfur resulted in

chlorosis near the veins of younger leaves, necrosis on edges, and stunted, skinny stalks (Table

2). Observations of major symptoms of the tomato and corn plant (Table 1 and Table 2) coincide

with experimental observations done by Wallace (1946) when he studied the effects of removed

mineral nutrients effects on plants. Wallace (1946) stated that each mineral nutrient would affect

plant growth and show symptoms of the missing or low abundance nutrient. The unknown

treatment on the tomato plant was narrowed down to nitrogen and unknown treatment for the

corn plant was narrowed down to calcium deficiency. Unknown treatment was determined by

observing and comparing symptoms and average length of leaf (corn) or shoot (tomato) each

plant, with their removed mineral nutrient (Table 1 & 2; Figure 1 & 2). Unknown and removed

nitrogen of the tomato plant had similar symptoms of stunted growth, chlorosis on older leaves,

and necrosis on older before it appeared on younger (Table 1). Apical growth was closest with

little growth compared to complete. With the corn, unknown had similar symptoms to removed
calcium with stunted growth, barely any leaves present, and necrosis and chlorosis at edge of

leaves. Although mean leaf length differed with -calcium at 6.5 cm and unknown at 3.2 cm, with

unknown almost half of the calcium, the deficiency experienced by the unknown doesnt quite

match with the other treatments as seen in Table 2.

Iron (Fe) was supplied as a chelated complex, rather than a simple salt. Even though

Fe is largely available in the soil, iron is a micronutrient and traditional micronutrients are easily

oxidized or precipitated to Fe oxyhydroxides reduced (Liu et al. 2015; Rodriguez-Lucena et al.

2010). This causes Fe availability to be reduced. Fe in a chelated complex makes it immediately

available to the plant through the roots (Winterborne 2005).

According to Miyasaka et al. (2002), Deficiency symptoms first appear on either the

younger or the older leaves of the plant, depending on the way the particular nutrient is

mobilized by the plants metabolism. Deficiency symptoms will appear first on older leaves

when mature leaves can breakdown organic compounds and transport them to the growing and

younger leaves (Miyasaka et al. 2002). Mature leaves act as sources and young leaves as sinks,

so source transport nutrients to the sink, which can be young leaves, fruit, or flowers. Symptoms

for other deficiencies appear first in young, growing leaves due to that mineral nutrient not being

readily re-translocated or is unable to breakdown the stored organic compounds stored, therefore

older, mature leaves of the deficient plant may have higher concentration amounts of the mineral

nutrition (Hochmuth 2014; Miyasaka et al. 2002).

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