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Q5:
If a plant shows a symptom which could develop due to deficiency of more than one nutrient, how would you find out experimentally, the real deficient mineral element?
Solution :
Step 1: Establishing the Experimental Framework (Hydroponic Culture)
To identify the specific deficient element when multiple nutrients share identical deficiency symptoms (e.g., chlorosis or necrosis), the plant must be removed from the complex soil environment, which contains a variable pool of minerals, and transferred to a Controlled Hydroponic Culture [Per the technique developed by Julius von Sachs].
Step 2: Nutrient Solution Preparation
Prepare a complete Knop’s solution or a standard Hoagland’s nutrient medium. This solution contains all essential macro and micro-nutrients in precise molar concentrations. The plant exhibiting deficiency symptoms is transferred into this solution to observe "recovery" or "rescue" [Reference: The Law of Minimums by Justus von Liebig].
Step 3: Systematic Nutrient Omission (Differential Analysis)
To pinpoint the missing element, perform a "Replacement Series" experiment:
- Control Group: Plants grown in a complete nutrient solution (all minerals present).
- Experimental Groups: Create sub-cultures where one specific suspected mineral is omitted at a time (e.g., Culture $-N$, Culture $-Mg$, Culture $-Fe$).
- Observation: Compare the phenotypic symptoms of the test plant with these specific nutrient-omitted cultures.
Step 4: The Recovery Assay (Rescue Experiment)
If the test plant is suspected to be deficient in $X$, add $X$ in a soluble salt form (e.g., $MgSO_4$ if Magnesium is suspected) to the growth medium. If the symptoms (e.g., interveinal chlorosis) vanish and new, healthy leaves emerge, the deficiency of that specific mineral is confirmed.
Step 5: Visual Representation of Nutrient Omission Logic
Data Comparison Table for Diagnosis
| Observation | Inference | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Chlorosis in young leaves | Immobile mineral deficiency | Add Fe/Ca/S |
| Chlorosis in old leaves | Mobile mineral deficiency | Add N/Mg/K |
| Recovery upon addition | Confirmed deficiency | Verification Success |
Final Solution: The real deficient mineral element is identified by employing a "Rescue Experiment" in a hydroponic medium, where specific minerals are systematically added to the growth solution until the phenotypic symptoms (such as chlorosis or necrosis) are reversed and the plant resumes normal growth, thereby confirming the nutrient's deficiency through the Law of Definite Proportions and Liebig's Law of Minimums.
More Questions from Class 11 Biology Mineral Nutrition EXERCISES
- Q1: ‘All elements that are present in a plant need not be essential to its survival’. Comment.
- Q2: Why is purification of water and nutrient salts so important in studies involving mineral nutrition using hydroponics?
- Q3: Explain with examples: macronutrients, micronutrients, beneficial nutrients, toxic elements and essential elements.
- Q4: Name at least five different deficiency symptoms in plants. Describe them and correlate them with the concerned mineral deficiency.
- Q6: Why is that in certain plants deficiency symptoms appear first in younger parts of the plant while in others they do so in mature organs?
- Q7: How are the minerals absorbed by the plants?
- Q8: What are the conditions necessary for fixation of atmospheric nitrogen by Rhizobium. What is their role in $N_2$-fixation?
- Q9: What are the steps involved in formation of a root nodule?
- Q10(a): Which of the following statements are true? If false, correct them: (a) Boron deficiency leads to stout axis.
- Q10(b): Which of the following statements are true? If false, correct them: (b) Every mineral element that is present in a cell is needed by the cell.
- Q10(c): Which of the following statements are true? If false, correct them: (c) Nitrogen as a nutrient element, is highly immobile in the plants.
- Q10(d): Which of the following statements are true? If false, correct them: (d) It is very easy to establish the essentiality of micronutrients because they are required only in trace quantities.
CBSE Solutions for Class 11 Biology Mineral Nutrition
Chapters in CBSE - Class 11 Biology
- The Living World
- Biological Classification
- Plant Kingdom
- Animal Kingdom
- Morphology of Flowering Plants
- Anatomy of Flowering Plants
- Structural Organisation in Animals
- Cell – The Unit of Life
- Biomolecules
- Cell Cycle and Division
- Transport in Plants
- Photosynthesis
- Respiration in Plants
- Plant Growth and Development
- Digestion and Absorption
- Breathing and Exchange of Gases
- Body Fluids and Circulation
- Excretory Products and Elimination
- Locomotion and Movement
- Neural Control and Coordination
- Chemical Coordination and Integration
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