Many plant foods can be found in the soil, but often in insufficient quantities to sustain high crop yields. Soil and climatic conditions can also limit a plant’s uptake of nutrients at key growth stages.
Crop scientists recognize that plants need 13 essential minerals, all of which play a number of important functions. If any of these is lacking, plant growth and yield suffer. Farmers can turn to Yara for help.
Plants need more of some minerals than others. Three major nutrients – nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, or NPK – are required for a wide range of growth processes.
Three secondary nutrients – calcium, magnesium and sulfur – are just as important but only required in smaller quantities.
Six essential micronutrients – boron, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum and zinc – are also needed, though at levels of just a few atoms in every million.
If any one of these major, minor and micro-nutrients is lacking or in short supply, a plant will be stunted or die.
