Question

11) Phosphorus uptake by plant occurs predominantly via: a) mass flow b) gravitational flow c) diffusion flow d) interception

Answer 1

Nutrients sucha as phosphorous and potassium are absorbed strongly by soils and are only present in small quantities in the soil solution.these nutrients move to the root by diffusion. As uptake of these nutrients occurs at the root, the concentration in the soil solution in close proximity to the root decreases.this creats a gradient for the nutrient to diffuse through the soil solution from a zone of high concentration to the depleted solution adjacent to the root. Diffusion is responsible for the majority of the P, K, and Zn moving to the root for uptake.