Question

How many nutrients have been declared essential for plants so far?

• A. 13
• B. 15
• C. 17
• D. 19

Hint:

Keep in mind that Nickel (Ni) is the latest addition to the list of essential elements. If you remember 16 as the traditional count, always add 1 for Nickel to get 17.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
Plants require specific chemical elements to complete their life cycle, known as essential plant nutrients.
Arnon and Stout (1939) proposed the criteria for essentiality, which require that the plant cannot complete its life cycle in the absence of the element, the element's role must be specific, and it must be directly involved in plant nutrition.

Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
For a long time, 16 elements were considered essential for plant growth:
- Basic nutrients: Carbon (C), Hydrogen (H), Oxygen (O).
- Macronutrients: Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), Potassium (K), Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg), Sulfur (S).
- Micronutrients: Iron (Fe), Manganese (Mn), Zinc (Zn), Copper (Cu), Boron (B), Molybdenum (Mo), Chlorine (Cl).
In 1987, Nickel (Ni) was established as the 17th essential plant nutrient by scientists (Brown et al.), especially for urea metabolism in plants.

Step 3: Final Answer:
Thus, there are currently 17 essential plant nutrients recognized, which corresponds to Option (C).