Science chapter 1
Nutrition in Plants Notes
All living organisms require food. The food gives energy to the
organisms for growth and maintenance of their body functions.
Carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals are the
components of food. These components of food are necessary for
our body and are called nutrients.
Nutrition is the process of taking food by an organism and its
utilisation by the body. Green plants prepare their own food while
humans and animals are directly or indirectly dependent on plants
for their food.
Modes of Nutrition
On the basis of a different mode of nutrition, organisms are
categorised into two major types, i.e.
(i) Autotrophs (auto-self, trobpos-nourishment) Autotrophic
nutrition is the mode of nutrition in which organisms make their
own food from the simple substance (e.g. CO2 and H2O) by the
process of photosynthesis. Therefore, plants are called
autotrophs.
(ii) Heterotrophs (heteros-other) Humans and animals do not
contain chlorophyll and are dependent on plants for their food in
readymade form. Those organisms which cannot prepare their
own food and take food from green plants or animals are called
heterotrophs and the mode of nutrition is called heterotrophic
nutrition.
Photosynthesis: Food Making Process in Plants
The process by which autotrophic green plants make their own
food from simple inorganic substances (carbon dioxide and water)
in the presence of sunlight and green pigment or chlorophyll is
known as photosynthesis.
Site of Photosynthesis
The process of photosynthesis takes place in green leaves,
therefore leaves are referred to as the food factories of plants.
The. the photosynthetic process can occur in other green parts of
the plant-like stem but is not enough for meeting all the needs of
the plant.
Reactions Involved in Photosynthesis
The whole process of photosynthesis can be given by the
following equation:
All living organisms are made from small building units of catted
cells. Cells are the structural and functional units of the body of all
living organisms. They can only be seen under a microscope. The
cell has a thin outer boundary called cell membrane, a distinct,
centrally located spherical structure called nucleus and jelly-the
substance surrounding the nucleus called cytoplasm.
The inorganic raw material, i.e. CO2 is taken from the air through
the tiny pores present on the surface of leaves called stomata and
water is absorbed through the roots of plants (from the soil) and is
transported to leaves by vessels which act like pipes. These
vessels form the continuous path from roots to leaves for the
movement of nutrients.
Green plants possess chlorophyll in their leaves which captures
the energy of the sunlight. This light energy is used to prepare
food (starch). During the process, oxygen is also released.
Photosynthesis is the unique process in which solar energy is
captured by the leaves and stored in the plants in the form of
food. Thus, ‘Sun is the ultimate source of energy for all the living
organisms.’
Products of Photosynthesis
The food produced by the process of photosynthesis is mainly
carbohydrate. It produces glucose as food material which later
gets converted into starch. The presence of starch in leaves
indicates the occurrence of photosynthesis.
Importance of Photosynthesis
If the plants do not perform photosynthesis, there would be no
food on earth. Photosynthesis is also necessary for the production
of oxygen gas in the atmosphere which is necessary for the
respiration of organisms. Therefore, it can be said that no life is
possible in the absence of photosynthesis.
Photosynthesis in Leaves of Various Colours
In green pants, chlorophyll absorbs light energy from the sun to
perform photosynthesis. Besides some green colour plants like
Croton, maple, Colocasia, etc., have leaves that are red, brown,
violet colour (variegated). These colours are present in large
amounts and masks the green colour of chlorophyll in leaves.
Thus, these leaves also perform photosynthesis and synthesise
starch in them.
Synthesis of Plant Food other than Carbohydrates
The starch or glucose is the simplest form of carbohydrate
synthesised by the plants which is composed of carbon, hydrogen
and oxygen. Sometimes these simplest forms of carbohydrate are
utilised to synthesise other food nutrients like fats (oils), proteins,
etc. Starch or glucose is rich in seeds like wheat, rice and various
parts of plants like potato tuber. Sometimes the starch or glucose
is stored in the form of oil in their seeds (oilseed), e.g. sunflower
seed.
When the plant nutrient contains, carbon, hydrogen and oxygen
along with nitrogen elements, it is called protein. The element
nitrogen comes from soil in the form of nitrate by the actions of
some bacteria present in soil and forms amino acid which is then
converted into proteins. Therefore, plants also make fats and
proteins as their food.
Other Modes of Nutrition in Plants
There are some plants which do not contain chlorophyll in them
and thus, cannot prepare their own food. These plants obtain their
food from other plants or animal, i.e. they are heterotrophic in
nature.
Parasitic Plants
A parasitic plant is one that lines inside or outside the other
organism and derive their food from them. The plant (non-green)
which obtains their food from other organism is called a parasite
and the living organism from whose body, food is obtained is
called host, e.g. amarbel or Cuscuta. It takes readymade food
from host through special type of roots called sucking roots which
penetrate into host plant and suck food material from the host.
Insectivorous Plants
There are some plants which can trap insects and digest them for
their nutrition. These plants are green in colour but lack nitrogen
elements. To overcome this problem, these plants eat insects.
Hence they are called insectivorous plant or carnivorous plants.
These have specialised leaves, the apex of which forms a lid that
can open and close the mouth of pitcher. There are hair inside the
pitcher which are used to entangle the insects.
When an insect comes in contact of the lid, it gets closed and
traps the insects. The insect inside the pitcher is digested by
digestive juices secreted by the pitcher to obtain nitrogen
compounds (amino acids) from them.
e.g. pitcher plant, sundew, Venus flytrap and bladderwort.
Since these can synthesise their own food but fulfil their nitrogen
deficiency by eating insects, therefore these are called as partial
heterotrophs.
Saprotrophic Plants
The mode of nutrition in which organisms take their nutrients
from dead and decaying matter is called saprotrophic nutrition.
Plants which use the saprotrophic mode of nutrition are called
saprotrophs, e.g. fungi like mushrooms are non-green plants that
grow on the dead and decaying matter for their food. Bread
moulds (fungi) and yeast are saprophytic plants.
Symbiotic Plants
Sometimes, two plants of different species live together and help
each other in obtaining food and shelter. This association is called
symbiosis and such plants are called symbiotic plants.
The relationship in which two different organisms live together
and share shelter and nutrients is called symbiotic relationship,
e.g. lichens and Rhizobium.
Lichen is an association in which algae and a fungus live together.
The fungus provides shelter, water and minerals to the algae and
in return, the algae provide food which it prepares by
photosynthesis.
Replenishment of Nutrients in Soil
Crops require a lot of nitrogen to make proteins. After the harvest,
the soil becomes deficient in nitrogen. Plants cannot use the
nitrogen gas available in the atmosphere directly. The action of
certain bacteria can convert this nitrogen into a form readily used
by plants. Rhizobium bacteria live in the root nodules of
leguminous plants. These bacteria take nitrogen gas from the
atmosphere and convert it into water-soluble nitrogen compounds
making it available to the leguminous plants for their growth.
In return, leguminous plants provide food and shelter to the
bacteria as Rhizobium cannot prepare its food. They, thus have a
symbiotic relationship. This association is very important for the
farmers, as they do not need to add nitrogen fertilisers to the soil
in which leguminous plants are grown.