Plant Nutrition

Question 1

what is a pitcher plant large enough to catch a rat?

Answer 1

Nepenthes Rajah

Question 2

N. Rajah environment?

Answer 2

lives in unproductive soil and uses carnivory to obtain nutrients such as calcium, potassium, and phosphorus

Question 3

where do plants obtain most of their water and minerals?

Answer 3

upper layers of soil

Question 4

how is soil classified?

Answer 4

size, from large to small; called sand silt, clay

Question 5

soil horizons

Answer 5

how soil is stratified

Question 6

topsoil

Answer 6

consists of mineral particles, living organisms, and humus (decaying organic material)

Question 7

what prevents soil from leaching out out through groundwater?

Answer 7

cations binding to soil particles

Question 8

humus

Answer 8

builds a crumbly soil that retains water but is still porous

Question 9

topsoil

Answer 9

contains bacteria, fungi, algae, and other protists, insects, earthworms, nematodes, and plant roots

Question 10

cause of 1930s American Dust Bowl

Answer 10

soil mismanagement

Question 11

what % of farmland has reduced productivity globally?

Answer 11

30%

Question 12

sustainable agriculture

Answer 12

goal is to use farming methods that are conservation-minded, environmentally safe and profitable

Question 13

what % of global freshwater use is
devoted to agriculture

Answer 13

75%

Question 14

primary source of irrigation water

Answer 14

75%

Question 15

primary source of irrigation water

Answer 15

aquifers

Question 16

land subsidence

Answer 16

caused by depletion of aquifers

Question 17

fertilization

Answer 17

replaces mineral nutrients that have been lost from the soil

Question 18

what are commercial fertilizers enriched in?

Answer 18

nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium

Question 19

what does soil pH affect?

Answer 19

availability of minerals

Question 20

phytoremediation

Answer 20

biological, nondestructive technology that reclaims contaminated areas

Question 21

why are some areas unfit for agriculture?

Answer 21

soil or groundwater contamination

Question 22

80%-90% of plants free mass is what?

Answer 22

water

Question 23

4% of plant’s dry mass is?

Answer 23

inorganic substances

Question 24

96% of plant’s dry mass is from what?

Answer 24

CO2 assimilated during photosynthesis

Question 25

how many essential element for plant life cycle?

Answer 25

17

Question 26

what are the nine nutrients?

Answer 26

carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, potassium, calcium, and magnesium

Question 27

what plants need to sodium?

Answer 27

C4 and CAM

Question 28

diagram of leaves and what they’re deficient in

Answer 28

green: healthy
purple outline: phosphate-deficient
orange-yellow outline: K-deficient
orange-yellow center: N-deficient

Question 29

smart plants

Answer 29

blue tinge indicates when nutrient deficient (phosphate) has occurred

Question 30

plants and soil microbes have what type of relationship?

Answer 30

mutualistic: dead plants provide energy, and secretions from living roots support nearby microbes

Question 31

rhizosphere

Answer 31

layer of soil bound to plants roots, contains bacteria that act as decomp/nitrogen-fixers

Question 32

rhizobacteria do what?

Answer 32

produce hormones, produce antibiotics, absorb toxic metals, make nutrients more available

Question 33

why does rhizosphere have high microbial activity

Answer 33

sugars, amino acids, and organic acids secreted by roots

Question 34

what does the nitrogen cycle do?

Answer 34

transform nitrogen and nitrogen-containing compounds from gas to usable forms

Question 35

nitrogen fixation

Answer 35

conversion from n2 tro nh3

Question 36

nodules (along a legume’s roots)

Answer 36

composed of plant cwlls “infected” by nitrogen-fixing rhizobia bacteria

Question 37

bacteriods

Answer 37

within root nodule, formed by rhizobia

Question 38

crop rotation

Answer 38

takes advantage of agricultural benefits of symbiotic nitrogen fixation

Question 39

non-legume crop rotation

Answer 39

A non-legume such as maize is planted one year,
and the next year a legume is planted to restore
the concentration of fixed nitrogen in the soil

Question 40

mycorrhizae

Answer 40

mutualistic associations of fungi and roots; secrete growth factors

Question 40

two types of mycorrhizae types

Answer 40

ectomycorrhizae, arbuscular mycorrhizae

Question 40

how old are mycorrhizae?

Answer 40

date 460 million years ago, may have helped plants colonize land (start = parasitism)

Question 41

ectomycorrhizae

Answer 41

mycelium of the fungus
forms a dense sheath over the surface of the root
—> do not penetrate root cells

Question 42

ectomycorrhizae occur in what % of plant families?

Answer 42

10%; including oak, walnut, birch, willow, eucalyptus

Question 43

arbuscular mycorrhizae

Answer 43

microscopic fungal
hyphae penetrate the cell wall to form branched
arbuscules within root cells

Question 44

arbuscular mycorrhizae occur in what % of plant species?

Answer 44

85%; including grains and legumes

Question 45

garlic mustard

Answer 45

invasive species that slows growth of other
plants by preventing the
growth of mycorrhizal fungi

Question 46

epiphyte

Answer 46

grows on another plant and obtains water
and minerals from rain

Question 47

how do carnivorous plants obtain nitrogen?

Answer 47

by killing and digesting mostly insects

Question 48

how do farmers promote mycorrhizae?

Answer 48

inoculate seeds with fungal spores