Plant Nutrition
Photosynthesis is the process by which plants synthesise carbohydrates from raw materials using energy from light
All living organisms need food. They need it to sustain the vital functioning of their body. They need energy to grow.
Plants make their food from air water and soil salts. Carbohydrates like glucose contain the elements carbon,
hydrogen and oxygen. The C and H can be supplied from carbon dioxide from air and the H can come from water. The
nitrogen and sulphur needed for making proteins can come from nitrates and sulphates in the soil. So when
complicated substances are built up from small molecules there is called as synthesis. This process needs energy
which comes from sunlight and the enzymes which are already present in plant cell. This process is called
Photosynthesis. The presence of Chlorophyll in the chloroplast of plant cells is involved in photosynthesis,
whereby it absorbs light and converts the light energy to chemical energy.
Glucose is quickly converted
to Sucrose and is transported
in the entire plant and stored
as starch, or gets converted
to other molecules.
Carbon dioxide is
absorbed from the air
through the stomata
And up to the
Here carbon dioxide and water are joined stem and leaves
to make sugar and the energy for this
reaction comes from sunlight which has
been absorbed by the chlorophyll in the
leaf cells. Water is carried in
water vessels in the
veins of the xylem
CO2 + H2O Sugar and O2. (this oxygen evaporates
from the leaf surface)
Water is absorbed
from the roots of the
Sugar/Glucose is converted to sucrose and transported soil.
around the plant. If this sugar is not needed it gets
converted to starch. Starch molecules are added to the
growing starch granules in the chloroplast. In potato and
cassava they are special tubers which store starch.
Sucrose goes into the phloem. Phloem are the food
carrying cells. The Sucrose goes into those parts of the
plant which do not photosynthesize, eg. Growing buds, Sucrose
ripening fruits, the roots and the storage organs.
Pollination
How the plant uses the products of photosynthesis
Glucose- Cells need to carry out respiration and certain activities in the cell also requires glucose
Starch- (storage) Starch molecules are made by joining glucose molecules together
Cellulose- (to build cell wall) As the plant grows they make new cells. Every cell needs a cell wall. So a growing plant
must make cellulose molecule to form these cell walls
Sucrose (transport)- Photosynthesis takes place in the leaves (because of chlorophyll) so glucose changes to
sucrose and is carried in the phloem tubes from one part to another and is used as energy
Nectar- to attract pollinators. Many plants reproduce sexually. Plants depends on insects, birds, bats to carry
the male gametes (inside pollen grains) onto another flower. So as a reward there is nectar produced by the
flowers made of sugar which is actually made from glucose during photosynthesis.
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Leaf structure Epidermis- it is a single layer of cells on
the upper and lower surface of the leaf.
There is a thin waxy layer called the
cuticle over the epidermis. The
epidermis helps to keep the leaf in
shape, reduce evaporation, and prevent
bacteria and fungi from getting in.
There are structure on the leaf
epidermis called the stomata. (Singular
– Stoma). The stomata are surrounded
by a layer of guard cells. In most dicot,
(broad leaf plants) stomata is present in
the lower epidermis, and in most
monocots, (narrow leaf plants) like
grasses, stomata are present equally on
both sides. If the stomata is close
photosynthesis does not happen as
there is no diffusion of CO2 into the
plant. So stomata allows CO2 in the
leaf when photosynthesis is taking
place and prevents too mush loss
of water vapour when
photosynthesis stops.
Opening and closing of stomata
In the presence of light, potassium ion concentration in the
guard cell vacuoles increases, making the cell sap more
concentrated. Therefore water enters into the guard cells by
osmosis. This flow of water into the cells increases the pressure
of water inside the guard cell. Now the cell wall next to the
stomata pore is thicker, therefore the pressure makes the cell
more and more thick, and this pressure makes the inner wall
expand more and more and the cell attains a curve, this curve
opens the stomatal pore.
When potassium ion leave the guard cell, the concentration of
the sap goes down and the water passes out of the cells by
osmosis. The pressure of water in the cell goes down and
stomata closes.
Mesophyll
The tissue between the upper and the lower
epidermis is called the mesophyll. It is made of two
areas the upper palisade mesophyll, and the lower
spongy mesophyll, the palisade cells are usually long
and contain many chloroplast in them. The spongy
mesophyll cells are loosely fitted and this leaves many
air spaces between the. The job of palisade cells is to
make food by photosynthesis.
Veins or the Vascular bundles have 2 types of tissues,
the Xylem and the Phloem. The xylem has thickened
cell walls made up of lignin and the xylem carries
water and salts and phloem carries food substances
such as sugars.
How the raw materials for photosynthesis get into the palisade cells
Adaptation of the leaf for photosynthesis
Factors affecting photosynthesis
The rate at which photosynthesis happens is affected by several environmental
factors
These include
1. The supply of raw materials – carbon dioxide and water
2. The quantity of sunlight, which provides energy for the reactions
3. The temperature, because this affects the activity of enzymes
Light intensity
Limiting factors
A factor that is in short supply and
that therefore limits how quickly the
plant can photosynthesize, is called a
limiting factor.
Carbon dioxide
Temperature
Photosynthesis investigations- Principles and starch test
Mineral requirements Shortage of Magnesium Mg ions
will not make chlorophyll and
leaves will turn yellow
Shortage of nitrate ions will
show stunted growth
Magnesium Mg is required to make chlorophyll Absorbed from the soil
from the roots
NO3- nitrates are required to make amino acids which will make the proteins
Water culture
