Question
I am doing a biology experiment on the effect of iron in plants. i was wondering if you had any information that would be beneficial to me. would you say that iron plays a large role in plant growth. Please let me know ASAP! my project is due in 2 days. thank you very much

Answer
Follow up .. see at bottom
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Iron is an important element for plant growth.

Plants require 16 essential elements. Essential means that these nutrients must be present for proper crop development. If not available, the plant will eventually die. Not all elements are essential. E.g. floride and iondine, for example are example of two chemical elements which has no value for plant growth. They are elements in the period (science) table but have no value for plant growth.

All 16 essential elements are needed for plant growth, but in vastly different volumes. The nutrients required in the largest volumes are nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, calcium and magnesium.
Because Iron (and other nutrients such as Boron, Chlorine, Copper, Manganese, Molybdenum, and zinc) are only required in very small volumes, these nutrients are usually referred to as micro-nutrients.

Just because Iron is required only in relatively low volumes, it does not mean that it is not important. It is still just as important as the fertilizer nutrients required in larger volumes. Without it the plants die (essential nutrient).

Iron is critical for cholorphyll formation and photosynthesis. Cholorphyll is the small "sun-panels" which the plants use to harvest energy from the sun (and which gives plants their green color). Photosynthesis is the process during which the actual sun rays are harvested. Iron is also used by enzymes to regulate transpiration in plants. Transpiration is the name we have given to the process during which plants pull water up from the ground and let it out it through small openings on the underside of the leaves. This transpiration process allows nutrients (dissolved in water) to reach all parts of the plants.

Without iron the above functions would not work. Since these functions are ESSENTIAL to plant growth, iron becomes an essential element (required for plants to grow).

Too much iron can be bad, however. It competes with zinc and copper in the soil for position (availability) to plants. Without zinc and copper plants wont grow either. Iron is only required in very small amounts which is lucky because iron is usually only available in very small amounts in the soil.

Normally, Iron deficiency (lack of iron) is typically not a problem because the small minute amounts needed are typically readily available in soil. However, in some cases, when plants are grown on soil with high levels of calcium (also called alkaline or high pH soils) iron can be tied in in the soil (e.g. is not available to the plants despite the metal is physically in soil) and then iron deficiency symptoms may show in plants. Typically this manifests itself through the bottom leaves turning yellow, stunted growth, and the plants not responding to regular fertilizer, etc.

I hope this helped you.


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ONE NOTE OF FOLLOW UP....

Something may interest you for your project.

The red blod cells in humans are called HEMOGLOBIN. It has an iron molecule at the center and surrounded by many other molecules to form the donught shaped, red, blood cell.

In plants, the chorophyll molecule is responsible for harvesting the sun's energy and gives plants their green color). The "inner ring" of this molecule is almost 100% identical to the HEMOGLOBIN molecule (red blood cell in our body). One molecule is different. In plants, the iron molecule has been replaced by a magnesium molecule.

This could lead to an assumption that iron is not important for plants (as it is for humans) but in reality it is just as important. It is still needed for the plants to function.

Just thought you wanted to know this extra piece of information. It is often mentioned in science projects.