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Plant Environment

Plant Environment. Fertilizers and Plants. Objectives. Determine the roles of plant nutrients for plant growth. Describe the effects of external factors (water, light, and temperature) on plant adaptation and development Explain the limiting factor concept.

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Plant Environment

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  1. Plant Environment Fertilizers and Plants

  2. Objectives • Determine the roles of plant nutrients for plant growth. • Describe the effects of external factors (water, light, and temperature) on plant adaptation and development • Explain the limiting factor concept. • Identify optimum soil and water pH for ornamental and forage crops. • Identify the hardiness charts to determine temperature zones for areas within the state.

  3. Primary Elements • Available nutrients • must be in soluble form before plants can use them • Absorbed by the roots • May come from organic or inorganic fertilizers

  4. Plant nutrients • Macro-nutrients – those needed in large amounts • Primary Macronutrients – N, P, & K • Secondary Macronutrients – Ca, Mg, and S • Micro – nutrients – those needed in very small amounts

  5. The major nutrients are N, P, K They are the main ingredients in commercial fertilizers. They are displayed by three numbers on the front of the bag. 10-10-10, the mixture is 10% N, 10% P, and 10% K. The total is 30% elements. The other 70% is a filler like lime.

  6. Nitrogen • Has the most noticeable effect on plants • Uses • Encourages aboveground growth • Gives dark green color to the leaves • Produces soft, tender, leafy growth for crops such as lettuce and spinach

  7. Nitrogen Cont. • Too Much • Lowers the plant’s resistance to disease • Weakens the stem • Lower the quality of fruit • Delay plant maturity and flowering • Too Little • Yellow or light green in color • Stunted in root and top growth

  8. Phosphorus • Uses • Encourages plant cell division • Essential for flower and seed production • Hastens maturity • Encourages root growth • Makes potassium more available • Increases resistance to disease • Improves the quality of grain, root, and fruit crops

  9. Phosphorus Cont. • Too much • Cause container plants to dry out • Cause a white deposit on soil surface • Too little • Purple coloring on the undersurface of the leaves • Reduced flower, fruit, and seed production • Increased susceptibility to cold injury • Increased susceptibility to plant disease • Poor quality fruit and seeds

  10. Potassium • Uses • Resistance to disease • Strong root system • Essential for starch formation • Chlorophyll • Efficient use of carbon dioxide

  11. Potassium Cont. • Too Little • Cause plants to appear dry and scorched on the edges with irregular yellow areas on the surface

  12. Secondary macronutrients • Calcium • Needed for cell walls to form • Too little – cell tissue breaks down • Deficiency symptoms – reduced root growth • Magnesium • Essential part of the chlorophyll molecule • Deficiency symptoms – pale green color • Sulfur • Essential for chlorophyll formation

  13. Iron (Fe) Manganese (Mn) Copper (Cu) Zinc (Zn) Boron (B) Molybdenum (Mo) Chlorine (Cl) Cobalt (Co) Micronutrients

  14. Organic fertilizers • Refers to material that is living or has come from living organisms. • Have low concentrations of N,P, and K. • Makes soil loose and workable. • Enhances the moisture holding capacity. • Enhances the ability of the soil to retain and make elements available. • Reduces soil erosion.

  15. Inorganic fertilizers • Refers to nonliving materials like chemical salts. • These fertilizers are usually easily handled, applied quickly and in concentrated amounts.

  16. Complete Fertilizer Container has N-P-K amounts on label Ex. 5-10-15 5% N 10% P 15% K = 30% of fertilizer is nutrients 5% + 10% + 15% = 30% 30% of fertilizer are the nutrients Other 70% = filler Filler usually consists of lime Calculating Fertilizer Requirements

  17. Calculating Fertilizer by Area N, P, or K content (number on bag) = actual N, P, K 100 x

  18. External factors that affect plants • Temperature • Light • Moisture

  19. Temperature • Warm season crops = soils temp >70 • Cool Season crops = soil temp < 70 • Different crops need different temps to grow • Plants have no temperature control mechanism

  20. Light • Quantity-amount of light received • Quality-amount of light of a certain color that a plant absorbs or reflects • Light duration- length of day

  21. Moisture • Water needed for photosynthesis • Humidity affects plant growth • Water is a solvent for nutrients and other materials needed by the plant

  22. Limiting Factor Concept • Optimum Growth Conditions are desired for crops • Limiting factor is something that prevents plant from growing to its optimum yield

  23. Optimum soil and Water pH • The effects of soil pH are determined by the solubility of minerals and nutrients. • Fourteen of the seventeen essential nutrients come from the soil solution. • Most minerals and nutrients are available in acid soils than in neutral or alkaline soils • Some nutrients become unavailable to plants at low or high pH levels

  24. Plant Hardiness Zone • Maps that depict the hardiness zones for plants throughout the United States • Shows the average lowest winter temperatures for a certain area

  25. Louisiana Plant Hardiness Zones 8A/ 8B =10-15/15-20 F 9A/ 9B = 20-25/25-30 F Plant Hardiness Zone Map

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