NUTRITION IN PLANTS

Definition of Nutrition:
“Nutrition is the process of taking in food and converting it into energy and other vital nutrients required for life.”

Nutrients: These are the substances required by our body for its growth, repair, work and maintenance.

Autotrophic Nutrition (Auto = seIf, trophic = food)

 It is the mode of nutrition in which organisms synthesise their own food from simple inorganic substances such as
water and carbon dioxide.
 Examples: Green plants and algae are autotrophs.

Heterotrophic Nutrition

 It is the mode of nutrition of organisms which cannot synthesise their own food, but they are dependent on other
organisms for food.
 Examples: yeasts, fungi, bacteria, human beings, tiger, monkey, birds, lion, cow etc.
 Heterotrophs are classified into different type basis the nature of food consumed and the mode of feeding.
  Plants can be synthesise their own food, so that they are called autotrophs and mainly the plants are prepare
their food by the process called photosynthesis.
 Photosynthesis is takes place in Leaf of a plant so that the leaf is called “Food Factory Of a Plant”.

Photosynthesis

 Photosynthesis is a photochemical reaction during which the plants can able to prepare their own food
(Carbohydrates) by utilizing simple compounds such as carbon dioxide and water in the presence of sunlight in green
colour (Chloroplast) parts.
 Photosynthesis is a physiological process.
 Oxygen is released as a by-product of this process.
 By the photosynthesis process the plants converts the light energy into chemical energy.
 Photosynthesis is depends on mainly four raw materials those are Sunlight, Chloroplast, Carbon dioxide and Water.

Importance of Photosynthesis

 It is the primary source of food for all living organisms on the Earth.
 It adds oxygen to the atmosphere to compensate for the oxygen being used in the respiration of organisms and
burning of fuels.
 It influences the productivity of agricultural crops.

Leaf is the “Food Factory Of Plant” so that the plants can be make their food in leaf

Structure of a Leaf:
Functions of parts of a plant:
Petiole:
 It is the stalk that attaches the leaf blade to the stem.
 It joins the leaf to the stem.
 It able to twist the leaf to face the sun.
 It gives support to leaves.
 In some plants, leaves are attached directly to the plant stem.
 Some leaves that do not have petioles, (they belong to the broomrape family) and these types of leaves are
called sessile leaves. Eg: Wheat, Rice and Saffron.
 If the petiole is present to the leaf then the leaf is called pedicellate leaf. Eg: Hibiscus, Rose.

Midrib:

 It helps the leaf to keep in an upright position.

 It also helps to keep the leaf strong during the wind.
 It also supports the leaf in such a way, to make it stand and expose it to proper sunlight.
 Midrib along with lateral veins forms leaf's skeleton and provides mechanical support to leaf.
 It also helps to transport water, minerals to different cells of leaf.
 It transports synthesised food from leaf to stem where from it is carried to different parts of plant.

Veins:

 The vein xylem transports water from the petiole throughout the lamina mesophyll, and the phloem transports
sugars out of the leaf to the rest of the plant.
 These veins and veinlets give rigidity to the leaf blade and help in the transportation of water and other
substances.

Lamina: (a broad expanded blade)

 The leaf lamina is the blade-like structure of a leaf.

 It is typically green and is responsible for photosynthesis in the plant.
 The lamina is also responsible for the movement of water and nutrients between the plant and the environment.
Factors or need of photosynthesis:

Sunlight:

 Photosynthesis can be done in the presence of sunlight only; if sunlight is not available the plants cannot perform
photosynthesis.
 If the light is passes trough prism the sunlight (Visible light) is splits into seven colour called “VYBRGYOR”.
 The photosynthesis can be done in visible light only because, the photosynthesis can be depends on light
wavelength, and the photosynthesis can be done in between 400nm to 760nm.
 The maximum photosynthesis is takes place in RED light.
 The minimum photosynthesis is takes place in Blue colour of light.
 The minimum temperature at which most plants start photosynthesis is 0∘ to 5∘ but it can be as low as 20∘C for
lichens and 35∘C for some gymnosperms.
 The maximum temperature at which photosynthesis can occur is 55∘C in some desert plants and 75∘C for hot
spring algae.
 Optimum temperature of photosynthesis is 200 to 35o c.
 Optimum temperature means the temperature at which an enzyme shows its highest activity is called optimum
temperature.

Chloroplast

 Chloroplasts are the green plastids present in the green stems, sepals and leaves.
 They are the site of photosynthesis.
 Each chloroplast is bounded by a double membrane envelope.
 Its matrix is filled with a proteinaceous, colloidal matrix called stroma and an elaborate system of membranous
lamellae called thylakoids.
 The stroma contains enzymes, DNAs, RNAs and 70S ribosomes.
 They occur as flattened sacs of two types—grana lamellae and stroma lamellae.
 Thylakoid membranes possess photosynthetic pigments–chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, carotenoids, cytochromes
(b and f), ATP synthetase and the enzymes required in the light reactions of photosynthesis.
 Thylakoids are the site of light for photosynthesis.
Pigments Involved in Photosynthesis
 These are the green pigments present in chloroplast.
 They are found in green leaves in a maximum amount as well as in other green aerial parts of plant.
 Chlorophylls are green photosynthetic pigments present in all photoautotrophs.
 These pigments absorb light near both ends of the visible spectrum—the violet–blue and red light—and reflect
green light because of which they appear green.
 In higher plants, chlorophylls are of five different types:

 Chlorophyll a is bluish green, chlorophyll b is yellow green.

 Chlorophyll c is found in brown algae, diatoms and dinoflagellates.
 Chlorophyll d is found in red algae.
 Chlorophyll e is present in Xanthophyceae along with chlorophyll a.
 Besides chlorophyll certain other pigments are also present in plants like.
(i) Carotenes: Orange in colour e.g. Carrot.
(ii) Xanthophylls: Orange yellow in colour e.g. MaIze.
(iii) Phycobilins: Different colour like red, violet e.g. Blue-green algae, brown algae etc.

Carbon dioxide:

 Terrestrial plants obtain carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through the small openings present on leaves
called as stomata.
 ‘Stomata’ are the small pores present on the surface of leaves.
 They help in exchange of gases and water.
 Stomata opening are guarded by the presence of guard cells (kidney shaped).
 Aquatic plants obtain CO2 dissolved in water through their general body surface so they perform more
photosynthesis than terrestrial plants.

Structure of stomata:

Water:

 Plants absorb water from the soil by the process of osmosis.

 This water is transported to leaves by a special type of tissue called as xylem.
Site Photosynthesis:

 Site of photosynthesis is different in prokaryotes and eukaryotes.

 In prokaryotes: Photosynthesis occurs in lamellar chromatophores.
 In eukaryotes: Photosynthesis occurs in chloroplast.
 Exception: Fungi (It lacks chlorophyll so no photosynthesis occurs here).
 In higher plants chloroplast in the main site of photosynthesis.
 Chloroplast is also called as green plastid.

Mechanism of Photosynthesis:

Light reaction:
 It is also called as photochemical process.
 It was discovered by ‘Robert Hill’ therefore it is also called as Hill’s reaction.
 Site: Grana of chloroplast.
 Raw materials: Light and water.
 Regulation: This process is regulated by chlorophyll molecules.
 End products are ATP, NADPH and O2.
 It consist of 3 steps.

Dark reaction:

 It is also called as thermo chemical reaction, Light independent chemical reaction,

Carbon fixation.
 It was discovered by “Melvin calving and Benson” therefore it is also called as
Calving cycle.
 Site = Stroma of chloroplast.
 Raw materials: They require CO2, NADPH2, ATP and Enzymes.
 Regulated by: Light reaction and enzymes.
 It involves three basic steps.