Uptake of Minerals

Uptake of Minerals

Plants depend on minerals from soil for its nutritional requirements. All minerals cannot be passively absorbed by the roots. Two factors account for this: (i) minerals are present in the soil as charged particles (ions) that cannot move across cell membranes and the concentration of minerals in the soil is usually lower than the concentration of minerals in the root. Therefore, most minerals enter the root by active absorption through the cytoplasm of epidermal cells. This needs energy in the form of ATP. Then it is transported to all parts by transpiration pull.