Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
In total, the plant has need of at least 16 elements, of which the most important are carbon, hydrogen,
oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, potassium, calcium, and magnesium.
The plan obtains carbon and hydrogen dioxide from the atmosphere; other nutrients are taken up from
the soil. Although the plant contains sodium, iodine, and cobalt, these are apparently not essential. This
is also true of silicon and alumunium.
Overall chemical analyses indicate that the total supply of nutrients in soils is usually high in comparison
with the requirements of crop plants. Much of this potential supply, however, is bound tightly in forms
that are not released to crops fast enough to give satisfactory growth. Because of this, the farmer is
interested in measuring the available nutrient supply as contrasted to the total quantities.