Table Of ContentRenato de Mello Prado
Mineral
nutrition
of tropical
plants
Mineral nutrition of tropical plants
Renato de Mello Prado
Mineral nutrition
of tropical plants
Renato de Mello Prado
São Paulo State University
Jaboticabal, São Paulo, Brazil
Translated by Priscila Porchat with the support of the grant 20/05310-1 from the São Paulo
Research Foundation (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo – FAPESP).
The opinions, hypotheses and conclusions expressed in this material are the authors’
responsibility and don’t necessarily reflect FAPESP’s vision.
ISBN 978-3-030-71261-7 ISBN 978-3-030-71262-4 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-71262-4
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Foreword
Humans have been living with plants since they first appeared on earth. Plants
enable animal life on the planet by providing most necessities from the oxygen we
breathe to the food we eat. We have learned to grow vegetables for food; therefore,
through agricultural science and technology, we have become even more dependent
on plants.
Plant nutrition is still a subject little known to the majority of the population liv-
ing in cities, which in Brazil is over 80% today. The following example illustrates
this: when asked what my profession is and I answer that my expertise in the agro-
nomic area is plant nutrition, most interlocutors look at me astonished and seem to
think: what is plant nutrition? When I explain that human nutrition and plant nutri-
tion are closely linked, that is, plants need to feed themselves so that humans and
other animals can nourish themselves, it seems that people get a little more inter-
ested. This relationship needs to be better known to give due importance to the
foods and plant nutrition techniques that are necessary to produce them.
The study of plant nutrition is interesting because plants need to be fed to mani-
fest their genetic potential and produce the food that the growing population needs.
Until the sixteenth century, when the human population was less than 1 billion, little
was known about the composition of vegetables. With the scientific revolution,
scholars began to discover the composition of plants. At the beginning of the nine-
teenth century, Earth’s population reached 1 billion, and most of the chemical ele-
ments that make up plants were already known, as well as the fact that removing
them from the soil caused its impoverishment. It was then proposed to return them
from where they were being extracted to maintain the soil fertility (i.e., the produc-
tion capacity), and then there was a great advance in food production. The sources
of nutrients, mainly nitrogen and phosphorus, were limited and insufficient to sup-
ply the soil with what the crops extracted from it. The great leap in supplying crops
with enough nitrogen for them to manifest their full genetic potential occurred in the
first quarter of the twentieth century with the industrial fixation of nitrogen in the
atmosphere, when the world population was just under 2 billion inhabitants. A vir-
tuous circle was established as the most properly fed plantations produced more
food, leading to a surge in population, which in turn created a demand for more
v
vi Foreword
food, requiring an increase in agricultural production. Thus, with the advance in
agronomic techniques, it became possible to produce food in abundance to satisfy
the growing population and allowing it to cross the 6 billion mark at the end of the
twentieth century and more than 7 billion today. My conviction is that the projected
population for 2050, of almost 10 billion inhabitants, will only be attained if there
is an increase in the availability of food from an increase in the productivity of crops
supplied with adequate nutrition.
The book Mineral Nutrition of Tropical Plants joins other literature on the sub-
ject, but it has the specificity of dealing mainly with knowledge related to the nutri-
tion of tropical crops. This book will provide readers with knowledge and, above all,
value and allow them to marvel at plant life and this field of human knowledge,
giving plants and what they represent the deserved recognition.
The book is didactically divided into chapters that facilitate reading and learning
for those interested in the subject. In Chap. 1, as an introduction, basic concepts about
plant mineral nutrition are given, such as the essentiality criteria, the relative composi-
tion of nutrients and their accumulation during plant life, and other elements of inter-
est in plant nutrition, and the hydroponic cultivation technique is explained. Chapters
2 and 3 are the foundations on which the subsequent chapters are based and deal with
root and leaf absorption, the transport and distribution of nutrients, and the factors that
influence these processes as well as some aspects of foliar fertilization. Thus, follow-
ing a common scheme, Chaps. 4 to 9 address macronutrients (N, S, P, K, Ca, and Mg)
and Chaps. 10 to 17 address micronutrients (B, Zn, Mn, Fe, Cu, Mo, Cl, and Ni), with
each chapter beginning with an introduction, where some peculiarities and basic
knowledge related to each of the essential elements are presented. Chapter 18 dis-
cusses some chemical elements, called heavy metals, which can be potentially toxic
to plants. Chapter 19 discusses the various criteria that can be used to assess the nutri-
tional status of crops, starting with the presentation of visual symptoms and conclud-
ing with the results obtained in laboratory analyses supported by the criteria for their
interpretation. Chapter 20, last but not least, is dedicated to understanding the most
common interactions that can occur between nutrients. Plant nutrition is of a very
complex nature, because in reality there are interactions between nutrients that can
reflect on the mineral composition of the crops and, therefore, on the nutritional status
and consequently on the production and the final quality of the agricultural product.
At the end of the book, the author adds some final remarks, followed by the vast litera-
ture consulted to write this work.
My first meeting with the author of this book, Prof. Renato de Mello Prado,
together with his students, occurred when he visited the Laboratory for Plant
Mineral Nutrition “Professor Eurípedes Malavolta” at the Nuclear Energy Center in
Agriculture, University of São Paulo (USP), where I worked at that time. He had
recently been hired as a professor in the School for Agricultural and Veterinary
Sciences at São Paulo State University (UNESP) to teach “plant nutrition.” Since
then, we have met with some frequency due to common scientific and didactic inter-
ests. After reading the book, I am convinced that this work is the culmination of
almost 20 years of research and mainly teaching in the area of plant nutrition as
Foreword vii
experienced by Prof. de Mello Prado. To confirm this statement, one can just go to
the bibliographic references of this work and see that much of what is included in
the book is the result of research by the author and his collaborators, in addition to
the nearly 400 works published in indexed journals. Another aspect that I am pleased
to comment on Prof. de Mello Prado is about his teaching activities, because besides
teaching plant nutrition, he has already supervised more than a hundred students
from different university levels and he leads a group of studies on plant nutrition at
UNESP (Genplant) that periodically holds symposia, which are attended by many
professionals and students to which national and international collaborators who
update their knowledge of plant mineral nutrition are invited. The author is also
proficient in literary production in the agronomic field.
The book Mineral Nutrition of Tropical Plants is recommended for everyone
who is interested in knowing how plants feed so that food can reach our tables, thus
marveling and revering these sessile green beings on whom animal life on Earth
depends. Anyone who reflects on the importance of plants for human beings with
regard to food production realizes that this fact is a great miracle that has been hap-
pening every day since the beginning of human civilization. Miracle, in the sense
that I wish to express, is not that extraordinary event which cannot be explained by
natural laws, but in the sense that it is something so great that it stirs our admiration
and should to be seen with attentive eyes and admired with the heart. The fact is so
great that a favorable environment for peace between peoples is only possible
through the availability of food in quantity and quality compatible with its demand.
Thus, making a reflection, I conclude this foreword, which was honorably
requested of me by my friend Prof. de Mello Prado, stating that anyone who works
in agriculture is a “producer of life, contained in food.” Convinced that the food
produced is a gift from nature but also dependent on the effort, knowledge, and tir-
ing work of those who dedicate themselves to producing it – a feeling that I am sure
is the same as the author’s – we wish for everyone who performs such an important
service to humanity:
– Strength to take care of the soil formed on Mother Earth and respect it as a liv-
ing entity
– Consciousness to conserve soil life and improve it through the respectful
work of man
– Wisdom to sow in the soil and produce healthy food
– Joy in sharing the food produced so that everyone eats what is good and tasty and
that no one dies of hunger
– Certainty that by producing food and preserving the living nature, everyone col-
laborates with the production of life contained in food
– Courage to render the honorable service to humanity by producing food for all,
thus promoting peace between peoples
– Hope that when producing food, it will arrive on all tables, making it possible to
make a better world, where the feeling of brotherly love for all forms of life will
be watered by the sweat of nature’s collaborators
viii Foreword
Finally, I hope that this book will inspire many young people to work with great
commitment to this field of knowledge so important for humanity, that is, plant
nutrition, and face challenges with joy and a sense of accomplishment.
Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil Antônio Enedi Boaretto
Acknowledgment
We would like to thank the support of the São Paulo State Research Support
Foundation (FAPESP) for helping with the publication and research carried out.
FAPESP (fapesp.br/en) is a public foundation, funded by the taxpayer in the State
of São Paulo, with the mission to support research projects in higher education and
research institutions in all fields of knowledge.
ix
Contents
1 Introduction to Plant Nutrition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Concepts of Plant Nutrition and Its Relationship
with Related Disciplines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Concept of Nutrient and Criteria of Essentiality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.3 Relative Composition of Nutrients in Plants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.4 Nutrient Accumulation by Crops and Crop Formation . . . . . . . . . 9
1.5 Other Chemical Elements of Interest for Plant Nutrition . . . . . . . 16
1.6 Hydroponic Cultivation: Preparation and Use of Nutritional
Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Sources of Fertilizers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Order of Nutrient Addition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Maintenance of Adequate pH in the Nutrient Solution . . . . . . . . 29
Maintenance of Adequate Osmotic Pressure in the Nutrient
Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Maintenance of Adequate Temperature
in the Nutrient Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Maintenance of Oxygenation in the Nutrient Solution . . . . . . . . 30
Maintenance of Adequate EC in the Nutrient Solution . . . . . . . . 30
Disease Prevention Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
2 Ion Uptake by Roots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
2.1 Root-Ion Channel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
2.2 Root’s Anatomical Characteristics and Processes
of Active and Passive Uptake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Anatomical Aspects of the Root . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Root Nutrient Uptake Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
2.3 Internal and External Factors Affecting
Nutrient Uptake by Roots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
External Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Internal Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
xi
