Plant Nutrition

The ability of living organisms to feed is known as nutrition. It is the process by which living things obtain and assimilate (utilize) nutrients. Living things require nutrients for various purposes; growth, repair of worn-out tissues, and provision of energyEnergy is the ability to do work. Energy exists in several forms such as heat, kinetic or mechanical energy, light, potential energy, and electrical energy. Units of Energy: The SI unit... More.

Plants manufacture their own food using light energy, carbon (IV) oxide, water, and mineral salts through the process of photosynthesisPhotosynthesis is the process by which green plants, and some algae and bacteria, convert the energy of sunlight into chemical energy. This energy is then used to synthesize carbohydrates such as... More. Conversely, animals feed on already manufactured foods from plants and other animals.

Types of Nutrition:

There are two major types of modes of nutrition in plants. They are

1. Autotrophic Nutrition.
2. Heterotrophic Nutrition.

Autotrophic Nutrition:

Organisms which are able to manufacture their own food are known as autotrophs. In this kind of nutrition, organisms make their own food from simple inorganic substances.

There are two types of autotrophic nutrition 

(i) Photosynthetic Nutrition.
(ii) Chemosynthetic Nutrition.

Heterotrophic Nutrition:

Organisms that cannot manufacture food but depend on plants either directly or indirectly are heterotrophs and the mode of nutrition is heterotrophic.

Most animals, fungi and certain bacteria are heterotrophs.

Types of heterotrophic nutrition include parasitic, saprophytic, symbiotic etc.

Nutrition in Plants:

Nutrition is the process by which an organism obtains food materials and prepares them for its use. Food is needed for growth, replacement, repair, and respiration.

Green plants differ from other organisms such as fungi, most bacteria, and animals in the way they make their food from simple inorganic materials.

They take in carbon (IV) oxide, water, and mineral salts and build this into the organic compounds they need; mainly carbohydrates, proteins, and oils.

This basic synthesis in plants is called photosynthesis.