Minerals in plants

Plants need mineral salts too. The difference is how they get them — plants absorb them from the soil through their roots.

Element	What it does	Deficiency symptoms
Nitrogen	Acting as a component of amino acids, proteins, nucleic acids, enzymes and chlorophyll	Stunted growth · chlorosis in mature leaves
Phosphorus	Acting as a component of nucleic acids and ATP	Poor root growth · red and purple patches appearing on leaves
Potassium	Protein synthesis · controlling the opening and closing of stomata	Chlorosis · yellow or brown colouring in leaves
Sulphur	Acting as a component of amino acids and proteins	Chlorosis in the leaf veins and the areas beside them
Iron	Synthesis of chlorophyll · synthesis of respiratory enzymes	Chlorosis in young leaves
Calcium	A component of the cell wall · maintaining the structure and function of the plasma membrane · proper working of enzymes	Death of the leaf tip
Zinc	The activity of many enzymes · synthesis of chlorophyll	Dead cell tissue throughout the plant · leaves unnecessarily thickened

What is chlorosis?

Chlorosis is the loss of green colour from leaves, which turn yellow. It happens when chlorophyll is not being made properly. That is why chlorosis keeps reappearing in the table above — nitrogen, potassium, sulphur and iron are all needed, in one way or another, to make chlorophyll.