Kataru's love and pursuit of Farming

Farming is not easy, not pretty, not wildly profitable. And I had no prior experience; then, why did I even get into it? I believe I felt a connection. Plus the challenge excited me - To be a successful farmer nowadays, one has to be equal parts entrepreneur and agronomist. As I dug into it, I also found farming to be fulfilling. That's how I branched into agriculture, as the Sanskrit aphorism "Vriksho Rakshati Rakshitaha" (Trees, when protected, protect you) took on a new meaning for me.

Monday, January 14, 2013

Every plant acquires 90% of its mass from thin air

That's why I find plant-life fascinating..

Consider this. Every plant makes 90% of its mass from the air, while 6% is extracted from water. Only 4% of its mass is made from the soil.

To take a close look, here's the break up:

Oxygen(45%), Carbon(45%) -- extracted from carbon dioxide in the air.
Hydrogen(6%) -- extracted from water absorbed via roots and leaves (the oxygen component in water is released back into atmosphere).
Soil nutrients (4%) -- nitrogen, potassium, etc. extracted via soil microbes.

That is, excluding the water mass present in the plant. Because the major compound in all plants is water. After the water is removed, the bulk of the dry plant material consists of carbohydrate compounds containing the elements carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. And, about 90% of the weight of those carbohydrates is carbon and oxygen.

Therefore, a plant obtains around 90% of its dry weight from the air.