Plant Nutrition and Fertilization Flashcards
6 cards from real CH practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Plant Nutrition and Fertilization flashcards as text
Fertilizer burn on plant roots is primarily caused by high concentrations of which factor?
Answer: Soluble salts
Excessive soluble salts from over-fertilization create a high-osmotic-potential environment that draws water out of root cells, causing burn.
Which fertilizer application method places nutrients directly in the root zone with minimal surface waste?
Answer: Deep root injection
Deep root injection delivers liquid fertilizer directly into the active root zone, bypassing competition from turf and reducing runoff.
Phosphorus in fertilizers is expressed as which chemical compound equivalent on the label?
Answer: P2O5
Federal law requires that phosphorus content on fertilizer labels be expressed as the oxide equivalent P2O5, even though modern soils labs report elemental P.
A soil test reports low potassium. Which symptom would you most likely observe on affected plants?
Answer: Brown scorching along leaf margins of older leaves
Potassium deficiency typically causes marginal scorch (brown edges) on older, lower leaves because potassium is mobile and redistributed to younger tissue.
Which nutrient application timing is most appropriate for promoting flower and fruit development?
Answer: High phosphorus prior to flowering
Phosphorus supports energy transfer (ATP) and promotes flower initiation and fruit set, making pre-bloom application the optimal timing.
Soil EC (electrical conductivity) is used in horticulture primarily to measure:
Answer: Total dissolved salts
EC meters measure the ability of a solution to conduct electricity, which directly correlates with total dissolved salt concentration in the soil or growing medium.