Re: are nutrients and minerals the same thing?

Plant nutrient deficiency websites should be dealing with plant mineral 
nutrient deficiencies. In plant science, nutrient is basically a synonym for 
mineral nutrient.

In biology, the term nutrient is usually defined from an animal perspective and 
includes minerals, vitamins, carbohydrates, fats, proteins, and water. 
Therefore, minerals are nutrients too. The term nutrient fits animals much 
better than plants because plants also require light and carbon dioxide, yet 
light and carbon dioxide are not usually called nutrients, even though you can 
speak of carbon dioxide deficiency. Plants synthesize vitamins, carbohydrates, 
fats, and proteins so they do not really become deficient in them in the same 
way they become deficient in mineral nutrients, which must be absorbed from 
their environment. Water is often limiting to plant growth but is not 
considered a nutrient by plant scientists. Plant nutrition is the area of plant 
science devoted to the study of plant mineral nutrients. Plant water relations 
is the area devoted to the study of plants and water.

The term "mineral nutrient" for plants is rather inaccurate because they are 
not minerals in the geologic sense. Mineral nutrients are actually absorbed by 
the plant as small inorganic ions, with the exception of boron, which is 
absorbed mainly as nonionic boric acid - B(OH)3. Some plant nutritionists have 
tried unsuccessfully to get the term "inorganic nutrients" accepted but old 
scientific terms die hard, even inaccurate ones.

Plants require at least 14 mineral nutrients. N, P, K, Ca, Mg and S are termed 
macronutrients. Fe, B, Mn, Cu, Zn, Mo, Cl, and Ni are termed micronutrients. 
Some plants also require Si or Na. Plants with symbiotic nitrogen fixation, 
such as legumes, might be considered to require Co, which is required by the 
nitrogen fixing bacteria in their root nodules. Most of plant dry matter is 
composed of C, H, and O but they come from water and carbon dioxide so are not 
considered mineral nutrients.


References

Epstein, E. 1972. Mineral Nutrition of Plants: Principles and Perspectives. New 
York: Wiley.

Gauch, H.G. 1972. Inorganic Plant Nutrition. Stroudsburg, PA: Dowden, Huchinson 
and Ross, Inc.

Hershey, D.R. 1994. Solution Culture Hydroponics: History and Inexpensive 
Equipment. American Biology Teacher 56: 111-118. 

Hershey, D.R. 1995. Plant Biology Science Projects. Wiley: New York.

 
Plant Nutrient Deficiency Symptoms