Theoretical Framework

The theoretical framework was based on the following theories. Plant Physiology Theory,

Theory of Control of Microbial Growth Kinetics, and Fertilizer and Pesticide Impacts Theory.

Plant Physiology Theory

According to L. Taiz and E. Zeiger (2003) plant physiology is part of the essential core

curriculum every botanist has to master. As usually non ‐motile organisms that are, in most cases,

fixed to a single locality for their entire lifetime, plants have special needs to cope with widely

disparate, and often highly changeable environmental conditions. Physiological adaptations play

as great a role in the evolutionary struggle for life of a plant as morphological ones.

Theory of Control of Microbial Growth Kinetics

D.K. Button (1978) stated that some formulations relating nutrient concentration to

nutrient transport and to nutrient-limited growth rate are derived. Experimental examples are

given in which transport restricts maximal growth rate in some cases and does not affect it in

others. It is demonstrated that normal variations in cell yield from substrate consumed at various

growth rates can generate curvature in growth kinetic curves unrelated to saturation phenomena.

Fertilizer and Pesticide Impacts Theory

Hu and Liu (2024) stated that the excessive utilization of these chemicals has led to a

range of environmental issues that are not conducive to the sustainable development of China’s
agriculture. Controlling the use of fertilizers and pesticides in crop cultivation is therefore

necessary and has been adopted as an action plan since 2015 in China. Merely reducing fertilizer

and pesticide inputs in crop cultivation may exacerbate the conflict between crop production and

land resource conservation in China, which means the technology and efficiency of fertilizer and

pesticide use needs to be improved.

“EFFECTIVENESS OF FERROUS SULFATE AS FOLIAR FERTILIZER TO PIPER BETLE"

Plant PhysiologyTheory
Theoryof Control of Microbial Growth Kinetics
Fertilizer and Pesticide Impacts Theory

Figure 1. Theoretical Paradigm

THOMAS LAZAR, Taiz, L. and Zeiger, E. Plant physiology. 3rd edn., Annals

of Botany, Volume 91, Issue 6, May 2003, Pages 750–

751, https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcg079

Button, D. K. (1978). On the theory of control of microbial growth kinetics by limiting nutrient

concentrations. Deep-sea Research/Deep Sea Research, 25(12), 1163–1177.

https://doi.org/10.1016/0146-6291(78)90011-5

Hu, Y., & Liu, Y. (2024). Impact of fertilizer and pesticide reductions on land use in China based

on crop-land integrated model. Land Use Policy, 141, 107155.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2024.107155