The Neglected Plant Nutrient

The Cornerstones of Healthy Food Systems

LINKS FOR FURTHER READING
Humic Acids and Lignins: Prebiotics for Soil
Relationship Between Plant Lipid Bodies and Fungal Endophytes

AFFILIATE LINK
BLOOMIN' MINERALS is made of 100% humic shale. It offers a great way to add carbon and trace minerals to your garden

• See how Bloomin Minerals, in conjunction with a microbial based biostimulant (Symbiosis AgX) protected plants from brackish water in this demonstration.

SEVENTEEN PLANT NUTRIENTS
Macronutrients
Carbon (C) (While widely recognized by plant biologists, carbon is often neglected by practitioners.) Carbon makes up about 50 percent of the plant's dry weight. It is important for structure, function, and energy.

Nitrogen (N) - Essential for DNA, protein, ATP, and many defense molecules (ex. polyamines). Nitrogen is the most commonly used fertilizer ingredient, and is often applied in excess.

Oxygen (O) - Essential for DNA, sugars, proteins, fatty acids, and more. Oxygen can be obtained from water, from soil, or from the atmosphere.

Phosphorus (P) - Essential for DNA, phospholipids, energy molecules, and more. Phosphorus is usually obtained from the soil, and is commonly added as fertilizer.

Potassium (K) - This element is essential for helping the plant maintain osmotic balance and aids in metabolism of other nutrients. It also helps plants manage stress.

Sulfur (S)-Sulfur is an essential component of two different amino acids that are used to make proteins. It aids in chlorophyll formation and plays a role in managing metabolic wastes or toxins.

Calcium (Ca) - Calcium is important for development of cell walls and for intracellular signalling.

Magnesium (Mg)-Magnesium is essential for chlorophyll development and aids in utilization of cellular energy (stored as ATP).
Micronutrients
Iron (Fe) - Iron plays a key role in electron transport. All plant metabolic pathways require energy, which is usually obtained through electron transport processes.

Boron (B) - Boron is essential for cell wall formation, cell membrane structure, translocation of energy, pollination, and seed set.

Nickel (Ni) - Important for nitrogen metabolism

Chlorine (Cl) - supports photosynthesis, may help maintain osmotic balance.

Zinc (Zn) - Zinc is a component of many enzymes involved in DNA tran

The Cornerstones of Healthy Food Systems Podcast Introduction by David Lucero.
Theme music by Zakhar Valaha

This version was updated in summer, 2023, when we decided to remove the cornerstones.endofite.com website reference. The only change was to remove the word cornerstones from the website reference.

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Luvut

1. In human nutrition, nutrients include small molecules. In plants, recognized essential nutrients are elements. (00:00:00)

2. Plants and microbes work together to convert elements to nutrition. (00:01:09)

3. Plant essential nutrients are classified as macronutrients and micronutrients (00:01:38)

4. Less than 3% of a plant's biomass is made up of the three most widely applied nutrients: Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), and Potassium (K). (00:03:12)

5. The neglected nutrient, carbon, makes up 45-50% of a plant's dry weight. (00:05:34)