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Upon completion, students will be able to:
• G3.4 Understand the factors that influence plant growth,
including water, nutrients, light, soil, air, and climate.
For the Instructor
#Gainz
By: Jose Vargas
• The 6 factors that affect plant growth
• Climate
• Light
• Nutrients
• Soil
• Air
• Water
Today, we will learn..
Ecosystem
• A system that includes all living organisms (biotic factors) in
an area as well as its physical environment (abiotic factors)
functioning together as a unit.
• Are plants considered biotic or abiotic?
• Biotic! Plants are living organisms which, depend heavily on abiotic
factors.
Question
Nutrients
Plants need 16 essential nutrients to
live.
• 2 Main Types
• Macro Nutrients
-Elements needed in large (macro)
quantities
• Micro Nutrients
-Elements needed in very small
(micro) quantities
Nutrients
• Plants get these three essential nutrients from air and water
• Carbon (C)
• Oxygen(O2 )
• Hydrogen(H)
• Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K).
• Found in soils
• Used in large by the plant amounts for growth and
survival.
• Replenished through fertilization
Nutrients
Nutrients
• Soil pH determines the availability of
nutrients at certain levels
• A well structured soil:
• Allows germination seedling to
emerge
• Allows establishment of a strong root
system.
• Allows access to water and nutrients
Soil
Plants get energy from light through a process called
photosynthesis, which takes CO2 + H20 and sunlight to
create glucose, oxygen and water.
Light shortages cause:
• Stems will be leggy or stretched out
• Leaves turn yellow
• Leaves are too small
• Leave or stems are spindly
• Brown edges or tips on leaves
• Lower leaves dry up
Light
• Wind increases heat loss due to evaporation and convection
(wind chill).
• It also contributes to water loss by increasing the rate of
evaporation from the soil and the stomata's of the plants.
Air
• If a plant’s soil has too much water, the roots can
rot because the plant can’t get enough oxygen
from the soil.
• If there is not enough water for a plant, the
nutrients it needs cannot travel through the
plant.
• - This leads to yellowing or dried leaves
Water
• A gardener can check the amount of water
in a plant's soil by inserting a finger in the
soil.
• Moist soil has enough water, while dry
soil needs to be watered.
• Other signs of a plant needing water
include a lighter-than-usual soil that is
pulling away from the pot's sides.
Water
• Climate includes:
• Relative humidity
• Rainfall
• Light exposure
• Temperature
• If the climate is too hot, the plants will die of thirst and will shrivel
up.
• If it is too cold, the plants will die from lack of sun.
Climate
• What are the 6 factors that affect plant growth?
• Climate, light, nutrients, soil, air, water
Question
• SAE project
• Future job in
ornamental
horticulture
Why is this information helpful?