SOIL NUTRIENTS AND ITS APPLICATION ON PLANTS

Soil is defined as the topmost layer of the earth crust in which plant grows and allows the existence of living organisms. Soil nutrients is the various essential elements required for the properly germination and growth of plants. These soil nutrients is examined and identified in the laboratory and were applied on plants in the biological garden; the soil is collected by stratified method, the collected soil sample is air-dried and spread on a newspaper at 20-25⁰c. After air drying, the roots and large bumps were removed if present and the soil was sieved with a 2mm sieve and preserved in a polythene bag containing the soil tag which contains relevant information about the sample. There is majorly 14 nutrients which is classified as either macronutrients or micronutrients; Nitrogen, potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and sulfur. The macronutrients is also classified into primary macronutrients (N.P.K) because deficiencies of N.P.K is more common than the “secondary” macronutrients which include Ca, Mg & S. the micronutrients include Born (B0, Chlorine (Cl), Copper (Cu), iron (Fe), Manganese (Mn), Molybdenum (Mb), Nickel (Ni0 & Zinc (Zn).

Identification and examination of soil nutrient depend on soil not only for anchorage but required elements for its structural build-up and physiological processes (Dis, 2001) all the elements that have been identified as essential for crop-plant growth, and yield is obtained from the soil of C which is obtained from the air through the stomata. Hydrogen & oxygen is obtained from water absorbed through plant roots.

The remaining elements N, P, K, C, Mg, S and the micronutrients which is referred to as plant nutrients, is obtained directly from the soil. Thus the plant depends on the soil for its nutrients. (Dahlgran, 2011)