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PROJECT WORK ON

MINERALS AND DEFICIENCY SYMPTOMS OF

ESSENTIAL MINERALS ON PLANT GROWTH

By: Hajira Bathool

XII – F

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 International Indian School
Al Jubail

Certificate
It is to certify that Miss Hajira Bathool studying in
class XII-F, during the academic year 2018-19 has
completed the project on essentiality of minerals and
deficiency symptoms of essential minerals on plant
growth.

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 (Internal examiner)

Acknowledgement
I would like to express my gratitude to Mrs. Rakhi
Ma’am, Saadia Ma’am and Tabinda Ma’am our
biology teachers whose help and encouragement
made it possible.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my

teachers whose unstinted support and guidance
has enabled me to complete this Project

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 INDEX
p Introduction

P Aim

P Requirements

P Theory

P Procedure

P Result and discussion

P Sources

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 Introduction
Plant nutrition is the study of the chemical elements
and compounds necessary for plant growth, plant metabolism
and their external supply.

There are seventeen most important nutrients for plants. Plants

must obtain the following mineral nutrients from their growing
medium:-

Macronutrients: nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassiu

m (K), calcium (Ca), sulfur (S), magnesium (Mg), carbon
(C), oxygen(O), hydrogen (H).

Micronutrients:iron (Fe), boron (B), chlorine (Cl), manga

nese (M), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), molybdenum (Mo), nick
el (Ni).

Plants take up essential elements from the soil through their

roots and from the air (mainly consisting of nitrogen and
oxygen) through their leaves.
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 AIM
To study essentiality of minerals and deficiency symptoms of

essential minerals on plant growth.

REQUIREMENTS
Culture solutions, gram or maize seedlings, sterilized bottles,

weighing balance.

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 s
THEORY

Plant require minerals for normal growth and development.

Hydroponics = soil less cultures= to raise the plants in
solution cultures without using soil.

Hydroponics is useful:

(a) In areas with thin, fertile and dry soils

(b) To find out the essentiality and deficiency symptoms

of various minerals.

Criteria for essentiality of an element is:

(a) It is necessary for growth and development and it is

directly involved in plant metabolism.

(b) It cannot be replaced by any other element.

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 (c) Deficiency of the element produces deficiency
symptoms. Deficiency symptoms or hunger signs
include chlorosis, stunted growth, necrosis,
premature leaf fall, malformed leaves.

Essentiality of minerals can be determined by growing

plants in:

(a) Knop’s and Sach’s culture solution which contain

essential element salts in specific ratio dissolved in
distilled water.

(b) Sand culture, i.e., well washed, heated pure quartz

sand, mixed with culture solution containing specific
salts.

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Chlorosis Leaf wilting

Necrosis

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 PROCEDURE
1) Prepare the Sach’s culture solution by dissolving the
following in 1000ml water.

2) Grow few gram seeds till they become seedlings.

3) Take 5 sterilized containers a, b, c, d, e. fill container a

with normal culture solution, b with (-N) solution, c with (-Ca)
solution, d with (-Fe) solution, e with (-Cl) solution. Cover
them with split cork lid.

4) Put one seedling in each bottle through split cork and provide
normal light, temperature and oxygen to let them grow.

5) Record your observations after some intervals of days.

Normal solution -N -Ca -Fe -Cl

solution solution solution solution
KNO3- 1g -------- 1g 1g 1g
Calcium phosphate- 0.5g 0.5g ------- 0.5g 0.5g
Magnesium sulphate-0.5g 0.5g 0.5g 0.5g 0.5g
Calcium sulphate- 0.25g 0.25g --------- 0.25g 0.25g
Sodium chloride- 0.25g 0.25g 0.25g 0.25g --------
Ferrous sulphate- 0.10g 0.10g 0.10g ------- 0.10g

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 RESULT &
DISCUSSION
1. Bottle a shows normal seedling growth.

2. Bottle b seedling shows deficiency symptoms for nitrogen

like chlorosis starting from older leaves, stunted growth.

3. Bottle c seedling shows deficiency symptoms for calcium like

stunted growth of seedling, necrosis and curling of leaves.

4. Bottle d seedling show deficiency symptoms for iron like

interveinal chlorosis and reduced growth.

5. Bottle e seedling shows deficiency symptoms for chlorine

that is, leaf wilting, chlorosis and necrosis; swollen root tips.
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 SOURCES
Lab manual book

www.wikipedia.com

www.academia.com

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