Physiological Mechanisms Involved with Genotypic Differences in Ion Absorption and Utilization

Abstract

It is well-known that all plants require at least 16 essential elements for normal growth and development. Yet, even before this group of elements had been defined, fertilizer trials that began at Rothamstead in the 1850s (and continue to the present day) had established that plants differ significantly in their responses to fertilizers and soil amendments and that plant community structure can be dramatically altered by manipulating soil nutrient status (25).