IMPORTANT TERMS AND

CONCEPTS RELATED TO PLANT

NUTRIENT LEVEL
 Recognize how the following terms relate to plant
nutrient level?
A. Critical range
B. Deficient
C. Sufficiency range/ Sufficient
D. Optimum, below optimum and above optimum soil nutrient levels
E. Luxury consumption
F. Toxicity level
• Deficient: When the concentration of an essential element is low
enough to limit yield severely and distinct deficiency symptoms
are visible. Extreme deficiencies can result in plant death. With
moderate or slight deficiencies, symptoms may not be visible, but
yields will still be reduced.
• Critical range: The nutrient concentration in the plant below
which a yield response to added nutrient occurs. Critical levels or
ranges vary among plants and nutrients, but occur somewhere in
the transition between nutrient deficiency and sufficiency.
• Sufficient: The nutrient concentration range in which
added nutrient will not increase yield but can increase
nutrient concentration.
• Excessive or toxic: When the concentration of essential or
other elements is high enough to reduce plant growth and
yield. Excessive nutrient concentration can cause an
imbalance in other essential nutrients, which also can
reduce yield.
 Luxury consumption

• The term luxury consumption is often used to describe nutrient

absorption by the plant that does not influence yield.
• Luxury consumption occurs when plants take up more of a
specific nutrient than needed for optimum functioning and
production.
• An example of a nutrient that can be consumed in excess of crop
needs is potassium
 Optimum and below optimum

The nutrient level in the soil or tissue at which plant shows

• Optimum growth
• Gives optimum yield
• Thus, below the critical value, the nutrient levels are below
optimum.
 "Deficiency Symptoms" and "Hidden Hunger"
• Deficiency symptoms are the visual signs that occur when a plant is experiencing a
shortage of one or more of the nutrients.
• These signs vary according to crop and the element which is deficient. For example,
an iron deficiency normally manifests itself through a "chlorosis" or yellowing of a
part of the leaf.
• Deficiency symptoms appear only after the plant is critically short in a nutrient.
• By the time these symptoms appear, the crop has already suffered some loss in yield
potential.
 Hidden Hunger
• Hidden hunger refers to a situation in
which a crop needs more of a given
nutrient yet it has shown no
deficiency symptoms.
• "Hidden hunger" is a term used to
describe a lack of a nutrient which will
affect the final yield. It occurs when the
nutrient supply falls below the critical
level and becomes increasingly worse
until finally, deficiency symptoms
appear.
• This is why it is important to monitor
the supply of micronutrients through
Figure. Hidden hunger is a term used to describe a plant that
soil and plant analysis to reduce the shows no obvious symptoms, yet the nutrient content is not
incidence of "hidden hunger." sufficient to give the top profitable yield.
 How nutrient demands changes at different plant
growth stages?
• In general, nutrient needs increase as the plant grows
through the seedling stage into the reproductive stage
(silking and tasseling).
• For nitrogen, the rate of uptake increases rapidly between
V8 (knee high typically) and R1 (silking).
• When plants are young and small, nutrient need is low. As
plants enlarge and start to grow rapidly, nutrient needs
increase dramatically.