St. Andrews Scots Sr. Sec.

School
9th Avenue, I.P. Extension, Patparganj, Delhi – 110092
Session: 2022-2023
Class: VII Lesson: 1- Nutrition in Plants Topic: Notes

As discussed in previous class (VI), we learnt that:

• All living organisms require food.

• The food gives energy tothe 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.

Various Nutrients Present in food

What is nutrition?
Nutrition is the process of taking food by any 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.

What are the modes of nutrition?

Modes of Nutrition
The methods of obtaining food are called modes of nutrition.
There are mainly two modes of nutrition:
1. Autotrophic Nutrition
2. Heterotrophic Nutrition.
Autotrophic mode of Nutrition
Green plants take carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O) from the environment and transform them into
glucose and oxygen with the help of sun’s energy, trapped by a green pigment called chlorophyll. This
type of nutrition is known as Autotrophic Nutrition.
Those organisms which can make food themselves from simple substances by the process of
photosynthesis are called autotrophs, and their mode of nutrition is called autotrophic nutrition. These
green plants produce food not only for themselves, they also make food for non-green plants as well as
for animals (including human beings)
 Green Plant

Heterotrophic mode of Nutrition

Those organisms which cannot make food themselves by the process of photosynthesis and take food
from green plants or animals are called heterotrophs, and their mode of nutrition is called
heterotrophic nutrition.
All non-green plants and animals (including human beings) are heterotrophs. Heterotrophic plants and
animals depend on food produced by some other living organisms such as green plants for
example; Cuscuta, many bacteria and fungi depend for their nutrition on the bodies of other plants and
animals. Thus, all animals like cats, dogs, goats, cows, buffaloes, deer, lions and human beings are
heterotrophs having a heterotrophic mode of nutrition.

Heterotrophs
Let us understand the difference between Autotrophic and Heterotrophic nutrition:
What is Photosynthesis?
The process by which green plants make their own food (such as glucose) from carbon dioxide and
water by using sunlight in the presence of chlorophyll is called photosynthesis. The process of
photosynthesis can be represented by a word equation as follows:

Equation of photosynthesis
Oxygen gas is released during photosynthesis. This oxygen goes into the air. The oxygen gas released
in photosynthesis is utilized by all the living organisms for their survival.
The process of photosynthesis can be shown with the help of a diagram:

Process of photosynthesis

Conditions Necessary for Photosynthesis

The conditions necessary for photosynthesis to take place are:
1. Carbon dioxide
2. Water
3. Chlorophyll
4. Sunlight

Plants take carbon dioxide gas from the air with the help of tiny pores (called stomata) present on the
surface of leaves. (The singular of stomata is stoma). Each pore (stoma) is surrounded by a pair of
guard cell. The opening and closing of stomatal pores in leaves is controlled by the guard cells.
 The carbon dioxide gas present in air enters the leaves of a plant through the stomatal pores present on
their surface and is utilized in photosynthesis. The oxygen gas produced in the leaves during
photosynthesis goes out into the air through the same stomatal pores. The stomatal pores of leaves open
only when carbon dioxide is to be taken in or oxygen is to be released otherwise they remain closed.

Structure of stomata

Plants take water from the soil, needed for photosynthesis. Soil always contains some water in it. The
roots of the plant absorb water and minerals from the soil and then transports it to the leaves
through the vessels which run like inter-connected pipes throughout the roots, stems, branches and
leaves. The tiny, pipe-like vessels which transport water from the roots of the plant to its leaves are
called xylem.

Chlorophyll is a green colored substance, which is present in the leaves, due to which the color of
leaves is green. The energy of the sunlight is absorbed by chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is present in every
leaf of a plant in the form of hundreds of tiny structures called chloroplasts

The tiny green structures in the cells are

chloroplasts which contain chlorophyll

Solar energy is absorbed by the leaves of the plant with the help of chlorophyll and is converted into
chemical energy (food). Thus, solar energy is converted into chemical energy during
photosynthesis and this chemical energy is stored in the form of plant food.

We know very well that nitrogen is present in abundance in gaseous form in the air. However, plants
cannot directly absorb nitrogen in this form. Soil contains certain bacteria, called nitrogen-fixing
bacteria that convert gaseous
nitrogen into nitrogenous compounds which are soluble in water and release them into the soil. These
water-soluble nitrogen compounds are absorbed by the plants from the soil along with water. In this
way, the plants fulfil their requirement of nitrogen.

Process to absorb nitrogen by plants

Importance of Photosynthesis:
Photosynthesis is important for the existence of life on the Earth.
1. Photosynthesis enables the green plants to make their own food. In the absence of photosynthesis,
there would not be any plants.
2. The survival of all animals in the world, directly or indirectly, depends upon the food made by the
plants.
3. Oxygen, which is essential for the survival of all living organisms, is produced during the process of
photosynthesis. Hence, photosynthesis maintains a balance between oxygen and carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere. So, in the absence of photosynthesis, life would be impossible on the Earth.

Other Modes of Nutrition in Plants:

Flowchart to show heterotrophic modes of nutrition in plants

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.
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.
 Cascuta plant climbing up the host plant

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-greenplants that grow on the dead and decaying matter for their food. Bread moulds (fungi)
and yeast are saprophytic plants.

Insectivorous Plants
There are some plants which can trap insects and digest them for their nutrition. These plants are green
in color but lack nitrogen elements. To overcome this problem, these plants eat insects. Hence, they are
called insectivorous plant or carnivorous plants. These have specialized leaves, the apex of which forms
a lid that can open and close the mouth of pitcher. There is 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 synthesize their own food but fulfil their nitrogen deficiency by eating insects, therefore
these are called as partial heterotrophs.

Structure of pitcher plant A pitcher plant

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 tothe algae and in return, the algae provide food which it prepares by photosynthesis.
 Lichens on the bark of a tree

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.

Nutrient replenishment in the soil

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 fertilizers to the soil in which leguminous plants are grown.