Plants need light, water, air and nutrients to grow. The light energy from the sun is used to fuel the process of photosynthesis creating food for the plant. The air provides the carbon dioxide for photosynthesis and the oxygen for respiration.
Elemental nutrients dissolve in water and are taken up by the roots of the plant. Elements are a pure substance made of only one type of atom. These elements are essential for the plant to complete their life cycle. Each element has a specific job to perform that is related to plant nutrition and health.
Without these, the plant can have symptoms of a deficiency or lack of nutrients. Some examples of deficiency symptoms are the plant may not germinate, slow growth, yellowing of leaves, plant parts or flowers may not develop properly or even cell death.