Palorma, Vincent A.

Salgareno, Mabel
Pachicoy, Brian
Soil puts food on our plates,
purifies our water, protects
us against flooding and
combats drought.
 POTASSIUM

PHOSPHOROUS
• potentially essential micronutrient of plants

• is essential for the growth of many lower plants, such as

marine algal species including diatoms, chrysophytes, and
dinoflagellates, as well as for higher plants in the family
Fabaceae or Leguminosae.

• necessary for the processes of stem growth, elongating the

coleoptiles, and expanding leaf discs
• the central core of the chlorophyll molecule in plant tissue

• helps to activate specific enzyme systems.

• a macronutrient that is necessary to both plant growth and

health

• plays a critical role in regulating photosynthesis

• acts as a phosphorus carrier in plants

• promotes soil structure or tilth meaning there is greater physical
stability

• improves soil aeration (oxygen in the soil) and water drainage

and retention, and reduces the risk of erosion and nutrient
leaching.

• provides a source of nutrients through mineralisation

• provide resilience to physical degradation, increases microbial

activity, increases water storage and availability to plants, and
protects soil from erosion
• change the structure of microbial communities and ultimately
promotes soil fertility by promoting community growth of
beneficial microorganisms.

• has positive effects on seed germination, seedling growth,

adventitious rooting, root elongation, harvest freshness,
stomatal closure and anthocyanin synthesis

• enhance plant symbiotic stress resistance commonly through

the enhancement of antioxidant defense system
• reducing its concentration in the soil affects plant
physiological processes such as nutrient and water uptake as
well as respiration, the redox potential of soil elements and
the activity of microorganisms

• influences the availability of many nutrients

• enhanced the growth and development of roots, vegetative,

and flowering characteristics
PHOSPHOROUS
• a constituent of plant cells

• essential for cell division and development of the growing tip of

the plant

• vital for seedlings and young plants

• promotes early root growth, winter hardiness, and seed

formation, stimulates tillering, and increases water use
efficiency
• required for the synthesis and activity of the enzyme nitrate
reductase

• regulate the conversion of nitrate into proteins

• vital for the process of symbiotic nitrogen (N) fixation by

Rhizobia bacteria in legume root modules

• needed by plants for chemical changes associated with

nitrogen nutrition
• required for photosynthesis and chlorophyll synthesis

• dictates the distribution of plant species in natural ecosystems

and limits yield and nutritional quality of crops

• serves as a component of many vital enzymes such as

cytochromes of the electron transport chain

• essential for the maintenance of chloroplast structure and

function
• required for photosynthesis and chlorophyll synthesis

• dictates the distribution of plant species in natural ecosystems

and limits yield and nutritional quality of crops

• serves as a component of many vital enzymes such as

cytochromes of the electron transport chain

• essential for the maintenance of chloroplast structure and

function
• increases crop yields

• increases root growth and improves drought tolerance

• builds cellulose and reduces lodging

• activates at least 60 enzymes involved in growth

• superior whole-plant quality due to improved photosynthesis

efficiency
• beneficial effects on plant growth, production and stress
resistance

• increase the amount of antioxidant secondary plant

compounds, making plants more resilient to drought or salinity
stress

• adding iodine to fertiliser in low amounts can be beneficial for

biomass production

• increased seed production, biomass accumulation, and

efficient photosynthesis
• important for plant growth (structure), plant food processing
(metabolism), and the creation of chlorophyll

• essential for crops to achieve optimum yields

• an essential nutrient for the production of amino acids,

proteins, nucleic acids

• most important component for supporting plant growth

• involved in protein synthesis and is a vital component of several
essential amino acids and vitamins

• required for chlorophyll production and, in legumes, has a role

in N fixation

• essential for many growth functions in plants including

nitrogen metabolism, enzyme activity and protein and oil
synthesis

• necessary for chlorophyll formation

• component of some plant enzymes, most notably urease, which
metabolizes urea nitrogen into useable ammonia within the plant

• without nickel, toxic levels of urea can accumulate within the

tissue forming necrotic legions on the leaf tips

• necessary for the conversion of urea to ammonia (NH₃) in

plant tissue, making it important in plant nitrogen (N)
metabolism
• an important micronutrient for plant growth and development and
sustains metabolic roles within different plant cell compartments

• essential to photosynthesis reactions and is involved in the

evolution of oxygen in photosynthesis

• essential for root growth

• essential plant mineral nutrient, playing a key role in several

physiological processes, particularly photosynthesis
• helps in maintaining a flocculated clay and therefore with good
aeration

• plays an important role in determining soil physical and

chemical parameters, i.e. structure and pH

• provide the best soil structure

• bridging soil organic matter with clay particles resulting in

better aggregation of soil particles
• helps in maintaining a flocculated clay and therefore with good
aeration

• plays an important role in determining soil physical and

chemical parameters, i.e. structure and pH

• provide the best soil structure

• bridging soil organic matter with clay particles resulting in

better aggregation of soil particles
• dictates the distribution of plant species in natural ecosystems
and limits yield and nutritional quality of crops

• required for photosynthesis and chlorophyll synthesis

• serves as a component of many vital enzymes such as

cytochromes of the electron transport chain

• essential for the maintenance of chloroplast structure and

function
• important component of various enzymes that are responsible for
driving many metabolic reactions in all crops

• essential micronutrient for plant growth and development

• involved in several processes, like acting as a cofactor for

hundreds of enzymes, chlorophyll biosynthesis, gene
expression, signal transduction, and plant defense systems

• essential elements for crop growth and production

• attaches to the soil particles making them repel each other

• disperses the soil and breaks down the soil crumb structure

• concentrating soil dispersion and clay platelet and aggregate

swelling

• aid in metabolism and synthesis of chlorophyll

• degrades soil properties by weakening the bond between soil

particles
Plant growth requires a compatible relationship
between the plant, the atmosphere, and the
soil. The soil will provide a location, support,
foundation, and nutrients for plant growth.
The air provides some needed elements and
eventually the dead plants return materials to
the soil
Over 50 different factors enter into the
relationship. Some cannot be modified
very much, like relative humidity, but
many, like soil texture, can be juggled
by a producer. Profitable production is
the result of careful juggling.