ABSTRACT
Minerals and water uptake in plants concern the factors determining how a given soil element finds its way into the metabolic system of plants. Absorbed minerals ultimately find their way into xylem elements by active transport. From xylem they move upwards along with transpiration stream and are distributed to all other regions. Absorption of minerals involves the entry of solutes as ions from the soil solution into the root hair cells by various mechanisms: root interception, mass flow, diffusion, and biological transporters. The water and ions move across the root by two pathways: symplastic and apoplastic transport. Transport from the roots to the shoot through the xylem is driven by the gradient in hydrostatic pressure (root pressure) resulting from (1) the release of nutrients into the xylem and (2) the gradient in water potential resulting from water loss primarily at leaf surfaces (transpiration). Most carbohydrates manufactured in leaves and other green parts are distributed through the phloem to the rest of the plant. Absorption of mineral nutrients by plants is species specific. Minerals can be fed to plants through foliar application, during which the lower leaf surface takes up mineral nutrients more rapidly than the upper side.
