Download Lesson 6.1 Introduction

Roland-Story High School
Agriculture Technology Class
Lesson 6.1 --Plant Food
Preface:
In Lesson 2.2 Soil Chemistry, students learned how pH affects the availability of nutrients plants
derive from the soil. This lesson examines more closely what those nutrients are and why plants
need them to maintain proper growth and health. Plant nutrients are divided in different
categories, such as essential, macronutrients, and micronutrients. The category of macronutrients
is further separated into primary and secondary macronutrients.
Students prepared a nutrient deficiency experiment in Lesson 3.2 Hydroponics that will cumulate
in this lesson. Students will check the physical characteristics and analyze tissue samples in an
effort to determine a missing nutrient in their growing solution. Once problems are detected with
plant nutrients, a proper plan to correct this condition needs to be formulated.
Concepts:
1. Plants obtain required nutrients from the soil provided the soil has the available
nutrients.
2. Nutrient deficiencies are detected in plants by the examination of anatomical features
and chemical test of tissues.
3. Nutrients can be added to the soil in various ways, such as chemical fertilizers, animal
wastes, and organic matter.
4. Plants require sixteen nutrients for optimal growth and development.
Essential Questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
What do specific plant nutrients do for plant growth and health?
How do plants obtain nutrients?
How can soil be modified to provide more nutrients for the plant?
What nutrients are needed for plant growth?
How do nutrients interact with one another in the soil?
What would happen to a plant if it was exposed to too much of a certain type
of nutrient?
7. How do you know when a plant does not have enough of a certain type of nutrient?
8. How do you know how much fertilizer to apply to the soil for a certain crop?
9. What are the differences among fertilizer sources?
10. How are mathematics used in fertilizer analysis, rates of application, and
cost benefit analysis?
Key Terms:
Boron
Calcium
Chlorine
Chlorosis
Compost
Copper
Deficiency
Fertilizer
Firing
Green manure
Iron
Legume
Macronutrients
Magnesium
Manganese
Manure
Micronutrient
Molybdenum
Necrosis
Nitrogen
Nitrogen fixation
Nutrient
Organic
Phosphorus
Potassium
Primary nutrient
Secondary nutrient
Stunt
Sulfur
Ton (tonnage)
Trace element
Zinc