MadSci Network: Botany
Query:

Re: will plants consume milk and orange juice?

Date: Sun Nov 5 18:56:48 2000
Posted By: David Hershey, Faculty, Botany, NA
Area of science: Botany
ID: 973457749.Bt
Message:

Rest of question:

will it allow the plant to grow faster that using fertilizer?

Reply:

Plants will not consume milk and orange juice the way we can. Photosynthetic 
plants only need to absorb inorganic elements, such as nitrogen, phosphorus and 
potassium, calcium, and magnesium from the soil. Most plants are photosynthetic 
autotrophs, which can make all the organic compounds they require using light 
energy, carbon dioxide, water, and mineral nutrients. We are heterotrophs, 
which is a very different mode of nutrition because we obtain our energy and 
organic compunds mainly by consuming other organisms.

It may be that plant growth may benefit from mineral nutrients contained in 
milk or orange juice. For example, milk and orange juice both contain calcium. 
However, fertilizer will be better than milk or orange juice.  




Current Queue | Current Queue for Botany | Botany archives

Try the links in the MadSci Library for more information on Botany.



MadSci Home | Information | Search | Random Knowledge Generator | MadSci Archives | Mad Library | MAD Labs | MAD FAQs | Ask a ? | Join Us! | Help Support MadSci


MadSci Network, webadmin@www.madsci.org
© 1995-2000. All rights reserved.