ABSORPTION OF MINERAL NUTRIENTS There are 113 or so different elements in this planet, of which fourteen or fifteen are absolutely required for the life processes without which plants exhibit diseased symptoms and ultimately die. Such elements which are absolutely required for the normal growth and development of the plant body are called essential nutrients, Among them, eight elements are required in sufficient quantities, others in small quantities; the former referred to as macronutrients and the latter as micronutrients or true elements. Nevertheless, plants also contain elements other than the elements mentioned above, whose deficiency may not cause any diseased symptoms or death and such elements are named as non essential elements. The macronutrients are carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, sulphur, magnesium and iron, The micronutrients are manganese, zinc, boron, copper, molybdenum and cobalt. Non-essential elements are sodium, aluminum, silicon, chlorine, gallium, etc. Most of the above said elements are found in soil solution either in the form of inorganic or organic salts or ions; which may exist in either in free state or bound to clay particles. Whenever there is depletion of any free ions from the soil solution, respective ions are released from clay particles into the soil solution to maintain the equilibrium. This is achieved by a process called ion exchange process. This may be due to contact ion exchange mechanism or by carbonic acid ion exchange ion mechanism. CONTACT ION EXCHANGE MECHANISM Plant roots are in contact with soil clay particulates which have colloidal dimensions, Root cells which are living, secrets hydrogen ions which are positively charged. Such ions can easily displace cations like K+, Nat ions that are bound to clay particulates. Thus the cations are made available for the root system to absorb the required ion. But the relative retentive capacity of the clay particles, though not absolutely fixed, is in the order of HiCa2Ng2KHNH4eNat, But hydrogen ions are capable of replacing any cation found on the clay particles. Nonetheless it appears that hydrogen ions can replace any bound ions to clay particles but there is a preference of ions to be released. As hydrogen ions have greater affinity, they can replace any of the above ions easily. CARBONIC ACID TON EXCHANGE MECHANISM Roots continuously respire irrespective of day or night, and liberate significant quantities of €O2, which when dissolved in soil water produces carbonic acids. Immediately they ionize into H+ and bicarbonate ions (HCO3) The hydrogen ions thus formed are capable of exchanging with any bound cations on clay particles and make the bound cations available for the roots.Though the above mechanisms were once proposed as theories, it is now clear that growing roots not only release COZ but also secrete hydrogen ions. Thus the root does provide hydrogen ions for both carbonic acid ion and contact ion exchange processes. Similarly adsorbed anions are also exchanged by anions like OH” ions. STRUCTURES INVOLVED IN ABSORPTION Aquatic plants do not need any special structures for the absorption of minerals, for the entire plant body acts as absorptive surface. But terrestrial plants possess extensive root system with innumerable growing apices. Short term radioactive isotope labeling experiments indicate that the meristematic regions of the root absorbs greater amount of ions than any other regions. This is perhaps necessitated by their active metabolic state. Though most of the minerals are absorbed by the growing meristems, minerals ultimately they find their way into xylem elements by active transport. From the xylem elements they move upwards along with transpiration stream and get distributed to all other regions. 7” Plant Roots Are F- Na + Nothing But Attractors Precisely Tuned AntennaePrinaru xulem Secendary Cambium Primarn phlsem Region of (Suirterentiation Primary phloem cambium~ | Pith Primarg iglem Region of elongation Meristem