This new edition provides current information on the nutritional requirements of world crops. It presents research on the acquisition, accumulation, transport, and functions of chemical elements in plants. Chapters outline techniques for determining the status of each element in plants and soils, ranges of concentrations of each element in crops and soils, and the use of fertilizers for each nutrient. Each chapter includes proper diagnosis of the nutritional status of plants through assessments of plant appearance and composition. The new edition contains more in-depth coverage of methods in plant nutrition research and nutrient diagnosis.

In 2007, the first edition of Handbook of Plant Nutrition presented a compendium of information on the mineral nutrition of plants available at that time—and became a bestseller and trusted resource. Updated to reflect recent advances in knowledge of plant nutrition, the second edition continues this tradition. With chapters written by a new team of experts, each element is covered in a different manner, providing a fresh look and new understanding of the material. The chapters extensively explore the relationship between plant genetics and the accumulation and use of nutrients by plants, adding to the coverage available in the first edition.

The second edition features a chapter on lanthanides, which have gained importance in plant nutrition since the publication of the first edition, and contains chapters on the different mineral elements. It follows the general pattern of a description of the determination of essentiality or beneficial effects of the element, uptake and assimilation, physiological responses of plants to the element, genetics of its acquisition by plants, concentrations of the element and its derivatives and metabolites in plants, interaction of the element with uptake of other elements, diagnosis of concentrations of the element in plants, forms and concentrations of the element in soils and its availability to plants, soil tests and fertilizers used to supply the element.

The book demonstrates how the appearance and composition of plants can be used to assess nutritional status and the value of soil tests for assessing nutrition status. It also includes recommendations of fertilizers that can be applied to remedy nutritional deficiencies. These features and more make Handbook of Plant Nutrition, Second Edition a practical, easy-to-use reference for determining, monitoring, and improving the nutritional profiles of plants worldwide.