Inorganic Plant Nutrition

The first book bearing the title of this volume, Inorganic Plant Nutrition, was written by D. R. HOAGLAND of the University of California at Berkeley. As indicated by its extended title, Lectures on the Inorganic Nutrition of Plants, it is a collection of lectures - the JOHN M. PRATHER lectures, which he was invited in 1942 to give. at Harvard University and presented there between April 10 and 23 of that year - 41 years before the publication of the present volume. They were not "originally intended for publication" but fortunately HOAGLAND was persuaded to publish them; the book appeared in 1944. It might at first blush seem inappropriate to draw comparisons between a book embodying a set of lectures by a single author and an encyclopedic volume with no less than 37 contributors. But HOAGLAND'S book was a compre­ hensive account of the state of this science in his time, as the present volume is for ours. It was then still possible for one person, at least for a person of HOAGLAND'S intellectual breadth and catholicity of interests, to encompass many major areas of the entire field, from the soil substrate to the metabolic roles of nitrogen, potassium, and other nutrients, and from basic scientific topics to the application of plant nutritional research in solving problems encountered in the field.

Contenu

A.- I. General Chapters of Inorganic Plant Nutrition.- I.1 General Introduction to the Mineral Nutrition of Plants (With 11 Figures).- 1 Introduction and Historical Résumé.- 1.1 Essential Mineral Elements - Plant Nutrients.- 1.2 Function of Essential Mineral Elements.- 1.3 Beneficial Mineral Elements.- 1.4 Recent Developments.- 1.4.1 Calcium.- 1.4.2 Potassium.- 1.4.3 Phosphorus.- 1.4.4 Nitrogen.- 1.4.5 Copper.- 1.4.6 Chlorine.- 2 Uptake and Long-Distance Transport of Mineral Elements.- 2.1 Ion Concentration at the Root Surface, Role of the "Rhizosphere".- 2.2 Long-Distance Transport in the Xylem.- 2.2.1 From the Roots to the Shoot.- 2.2.2 Into Fruits, Seeds and Storage Organs.- 2.2.3 Retranslocation of Mineral Elements from Leaves.- 3 Calcium Nutrition of Higher Plants.- 3.1 Introduction.- 3.2 Calcium Demand of Higher Plants.- 3.3 Calcium Uptake by the Roots.- 3.4 Long-Distance Transport of Calcium.- 3.4.1 Xylem Transport.- 3.4.2 Phloem Transport.- 3.4.3 Xylem Versus Phloem Transport.- 3.5 Role of Phytohormones and Growth Regulators.- 3.6 Conclusion and Outlook.- 4 Mineral Nutrition and Physiology of Yield Formation - Sink-Source Relationship.- 4.1 Introduction.- 4.2 Effect of Mineral Nutrition on Phytohormone Level and Sink Formation.- 4.3 Effect of Mineral Nutrients on Fertilization.- 4.4 Source-Sink Interactions in Relation to Mineral Nutrition.- 5 Environmental Aspects of Mineral Nutrition.- 5.1 Introduction.- 5.1.1 Nitrogen.- 5.1.2 Heavy Metals.- 5.2 Heavy Metal Toxicity.- 5.3 Heavy Metals in the Food Chain.- 5.4 Heavy Metals in the Soil/Plant System.- 5.4.1 Content of Soils.- 5.4.2 Soil Factors Affecting Heavy Metal Accumulation in Plants.- 5.4.3 Genotypic Differences in Heavy Metal Uptake.- 5.4.4 Distribution Within the Plants and Their Organs.- 5.4.5 Heavy Metal Tolerance.- 5.5 Concluding Remarks.- References.- I.2 The Significance of Rhizosphere Microflora and Mycorrhizas in Plant Nutrition (With 7 Figures).- 1 Introduction.- 2 Energy Supplies in the Rhizosphere.- 2.1 Exudates.- 2.2 Secretions.- 2.3 Plant Mucilages.- 2.4 Mucigel.- 2.5 Lysates.- 3 Microbiology of the Rhizosphere.- 3.1 Populations of Micro-Organisms.- 3.2 Colonization of Roots by Micro-Organisms.- 4 Mathematical Modelling of the Rhizosphere.- 5 Microscopy of the Rhizosphere.- 5.1 Light Microscopy.- 5.2 Scanning Electron Microscopy (S.E.M.).- 5.3 Transmission Electron Microscopy (T.E.M.).- 5.3.1 General Description.- 5.3.2 Origin and Fine Structure of Root Mucilage.- 5.3.3 Microbial Invasion of the Mucilage and the Formation of Mucigel.- 5.3.4 Functions of Root Mucilage and Mucigel.- 5.3.5 The Outer Rhizosphere.- 5.3.6 Invasion of the Root by Microorganisms.- 6 The Role of Rhizosphere Microorganisms in Plant Nutrition.- 6.1 Availability of Nutrients.- 6.1.1 Nutrient Release and Immobilization.- 6.1.2 Nitrification and Denitrification.- 6.1.3 Nitrogen Fixation.- 6.1.4 Phosphate Availability.- 6.1.5 Minor Nutrients.- 6.2 Growth and Morphology of Roots.- 6.2.1 Root Length and Root Hairs.- 6.2.2 Proteoid Roots.- 6.3 Nutrient Uptake Processes.- 6.4 Physiology and Development -.- 7 Myeorrhizas.- 7.1 Plant Responses to Infection.- 7.2 Mechanisms of the Response.- 7.2.1 Nutrient Availability.- 7.2.2 Absorption Characteristics of the Root.- 7.2.3 Absorption by the Fungus Component.- 7.3 Energy Requirements of Myeorrhizas.- 7.4 Overview of Myeorrhizas.- 8 General Conclusions.- References.- I.3 Modern Solution Culture Techniques (With 3 Figures).- 1 Major Differences Between Solution Culture and Soil Culture.- 1.1 Mechanical Support.- 1.2 Spatial Variation in Root Environment Parameters.- 1.3 Temporal Variation in Root Environment Parameters.- 1.3.1 Nutrient Depletion.- 1.3.2 pH Shifts.- 1.4 Root-Microorganism Interactions.- 2 Uses and Limitations of Existing Solution Culture Methods.- 2.1 Non-Renewed or Intermittently Renewed Water Cultures and Sand Cultures.- 2.1.1 Use in Teaching, Demonstration, and Diagnosis.- 2.1.2 Production of Roots for Ion Transport Studies.- 2.1.3 Nutrient Essentiality.- 2.1.4 Effects of Root Environment Parameters.- 2.1.5 Establishment of Critical Tissue Concentrations.- 2.1.6 Control of Plant Nutrient Status.- 2.1.7 Study of Symbiotic Associations with Microorganisms.- 2.1.8 Commercial Crop Production.- 2.2 Mist Culture.- 2.3 Flowing Solution Culture.- 2.3.1 The Flow Rate Problem.- 2.3.2 Composition of Flowing Culture Solutions.- 2.3.3 Research Applications.- 2.3.4 Likely Future Developments.- 2.3.5 Commercial Crop Production.- 3 Summary and Conclusions.- References.- I.4 Diagnosis of Mineral Deficiencies Using Plant Tests (With 5 Figures).- 1 Introduction.- 2 Plant Analysis.- 2.1 Physiological Basis.- 2.2 Choice of Tissue.- 2.3 Factors Affecting the Relationship Between Nutrient Concentration and Yield.- 2.3.1 Plant Development.- 2.3.2 Effects of Changes in Age of Tissue.- 2.3.3 Plant Age and Critical Levels.- 2.3.4 Interactions Between Nutrient Elements.- 2.3.5 Environmental Factors.- 2.3.6 Other Factors Affecting Nutrient Composition.- 3 Physiological and Biochemical Approaches to Diagnosis.- 3.1 Introductory Remarks.- 3.2 Physiological Approaches.- 3.2.1 Physiological Assessment.- 3.2.2 Nutrient Stress.- 3.2.3 Approaches Based on Photosynthesis.- 3.2.4 Other Approaches.- 3.3 Biochemical Approaches.- 3.3.1 Nitrogen and Molybdenum.- 3.3.2 Phosphorus.- 3.3.3 Potassium and Magnesium.- 3.3.4 Iron and Manganese.- 3.3.5 Copper.- 3.3.6 Zinc.- 4 Prospects for the Future.- References.- 1.5 Interactions Between Nutrients in Higher Plants (With 9 Figures).- 1 Introduction.- 2 Interactions Between Nutrients in Monoculture.- 2.1 Interactions Between Nutrients Affecting the Absorption of Nutrients.- 2.1.1 Interactions Occurring in the Soil.- 2.1.2 Absorption from Solution at the Root Surface.- 2.2 Interactions Between Nutrients Affecting the Utilization of Nutrients Within the Plant.- 2.2.1 Distribution.- 2.2.2 Function.- 2.3 Complex Interactions Between Nutrients Involving Several Processes.- 2.3.1 Calcium/Aluminium/Phosphate.- 2.3.2 Zinc/Phosphate.- 3 Interactions Between Nutrients in Mixed Communities.- 4 Conclusion.- References.- I.6 Import and Export of Mineral Nutrients in Plant Roots (With 10 Figures).- 1 Introduction: The Dual Role of Roots in the Evolution of Higher Land Plants.- 2 Relations Between Structure and Transport Functions Along the Length of Roots.- 2.1 The Phenomenon of Variations in Transport Functions Along the Length of Roots.- 2.2 Structure-Function Relations in Various Root Zones.- 2.2.1 The Root Surface.- 2.2.2 The Cortex.- 2.2.3 The Endodermis.- 2.2.4 The Stele.- 3 Variations of Physiological Activities Along the Length of Ro…