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Disease is one of the main limitations on the amount and quality of crop production, by reducing the availability, absorption, distribution and use of nutrients by the plant. Silicon (Si) is one of the most abundant elements in the lithosphere and most soils have considerable amounts. Although not considered an essential nutrient for most plants, a lot of evidence shows the beneficial effects of nutrition with Si on growth, development and health of crops. Many studies have suggested that Si activates the defense mechanisms of plants, but the exact nature of the interaction between this element and the biochemical pathways that direct resistance still remains unclear. This article presents a review of the relationship between mineral nutrition and disease development and discusses the beneficial effects of silicon in crops, its mobility in soil, the process of assimilation through the roots and its influence on tolerance to fungal diseases. Key words: mineral nutrition, plant diseases, beneficial elements Las enfermedades constituyen una de las principales limitaciones de la cantidad y calidad de la producción de los cultivos porque reducen la disponibilidad de los nutrientes, su absorción, distribución y utilización por la planta. El silicio (Si) es uno de los elementos más abundantes en la litosfera y la mayoría de los suelos presentan cantidades considerables de este elemento. Aunque el Si no se considera un nutriente esencial para la mayoría de las plantas, muchas evidencias demuestran los efectos benéficos de la nutrición con Si sobre el crecimiento, desarrollo y estado sanitario de los cultivos. Muchos estudios han sugerido que el Si activa los mecanismos de defensa de la planta, pero la naturaleza exacta de la interacción entre este elemento y las vías bioquímicas que dirigen la resistencia permanece aún sin esclarecer. En este artículo se presenta una revisión sobre las relaciones entre la nutrición mineral y el desarrollo de las enfermedades y se discuten los efectos benéficos del silicio en los cultivos, su movilidad en el suelo, el proceso de asimilación a través de las raíces y su influencia en la tolerancia a enfermedades causadas por hongos.Palabras clave: nutrición mineral, enfermedades de plantas, elementos benéficos

La \"mancha de madurez\" de los frutos de banano es un desorden fisiológico causado por una absorción baja de calcio por parte de la planta en épocas secas. Varios reportes científicos demuestran la relación estrecha de la enfermedad con las deficiencias de calcio en épocas de sequía. La fertilización y el comportamiento del calcio con respecto a otros nutrientes del suelo son también factores que inciden en la mancha de madurez, incidencia que es reducida con fertilizaciones de nitrato de calcio. Se analizan las funciones del calcio en la planta, su participación en la división y extensión celulares, el balance hídrico de las células, el envío de señales de respuesta a un estímulo externo y sus funciones estructurales en las paredes y membranas celulares. Se discute el papel del calcio en el cultivo de banano, su movilidad en el suelo, la relación que tiene con otras bases, el proceso de asimilación a través de las raíces y su relación con la incidencia de la mancha de madurez de los frutos.

Cadmium, lead, mercury, and aluminum are toxic metals that may interact metabolically with nutritionally essential metals. Iron deficiency increases absorption of cadmium, lead, and aluminum. Lead interacts with calcium in the nervous system to impair cognitive development. Cadmium and aluminum interact with calcium in the skeletal system to produce osteodystrophies. Lead replaces zinc on heme enzymes and cadmium replaces zinc on metallothionein. Selenium protects from mercury and methylmercury toxicity. Aluminum interacts with calcium in bone and kidneys, resulting in aluminum osteodystrophy. Calcium deficiency along with low dietary magnesium may contribute to aluminum-induced degenerative nervous disease

Regulation of rivers by damming as well as eutrophication in river basins has substantially reduced dissolved silicon (DSi) loads to the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea. Whereas removal of N and P in lakes and reservoirs can be compensated for by anthropogenic inputs in the drainage basins, no such compensation occurs for DSi. The resulting changes in the nutrient composition (DSi:N:P ratio) of river discharges seem to be responsible for dramatic shifts in phytoplankton species composition in the Black Sea. In the Baltic Sea, DSi concentrations and the DSi:N ratio have been decreasing since the end of the 1960s, and there are indications that the proportion of diatoms in the spring bloom has decreased while flagellates have increased. The effects on coastal biogeochemical cycles and food web structure observed in the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea may be far reaching, because it appears that the reductions in DSi delivery by rivers are probably occurring worldwide with the ever increasing construction of dams for flow regulation.

La \"mancha de madurez\" de los frutos de banano es un desorden fisiológico causado por una absorción baja de calcio por parte de la planta en épocas secas. Varios reportes científicos demuestran la relación estrecha de la enfermedad con las deficiencias de calcio en épocas de sequía. La fertilización y el comportamiento del calcio con respecto a otros nutrientes del suelo son también factores que inciden en la mancha de madurez, incidencia que es reducida con fertilizaciones de nitrato de calcio. Se analizan las funciones del calcio en la planta, su participación en la división y extensión celulares, el balance hídrico de las células, el envío de señales de respuesta a un estímulo externo y sus funciones estructurales en las paredes y membranas celulares. Se discute el papel del calcio en el cultivo de banano, su movilidad en el suelo, la relación que tiene con otras bases, el proceso de asimilación a través de las raíces y su relación con la incidencia de la mancha de madurez de los frutos The \"maturity bronzing\" in banana fruits is a physiological disorder caused by a low calcium uptake by the plant in dry season. Several scientific reports demonstrated the close relationship of the disease with the calcium deficiencies during drought seasons. The fertilization and behavior of calcium with respect to other soil nutrients contributed to the incidence of \"maturity bronzing\", indicated that the incidence is reduced with calcium nitrate fertilizations. The role of calcium in plants, its participation in cellular division and extension, hydric balance of cells, signalling cascade as response to an external stimulus, and its structural functions in the cellular walls and membranes are analyzed. The role of calcium in banana culture, its mobility in soil, relationship with other bases, the process of Ca assimilation through the roots, and its relationship with the incidence of \"maturity bonzing\" of fruits are discussed.

Iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia are prevalent among pregnant women. The extent to which iron deficiency affects maternal and neonatal health is uncertain. Existing data suggest that maternal iron deficiency anemia may be associated with adverse outcomes, including preterm delivery and higher maternal mortality. Further research is needed on the maternal and neonatal benefits of iron supplementation during pregnancy

One way to prevent iron deficiency anemia in developing countries is through the fortification of food products with iron. In addition to avoiding undesirable color and flavor changes, the main challenge is to protect the fortification iron from potential inhibitors of iron absorption present in commonly fortified foods

The development of clustered tertiary lateral roots (proteoid roots) and the expression of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC, EC 4.1.1.31) in roots were studied in white lupin (Lupinus albus L.) grown with either 1 mM P (+P-treated) or without P (-P-treated). The +P-treated plants initiated fewer clustered tertiary meristems and the emergence of these meristems was delayed compared with -P-treated plants. Proteoid root zones could be identified 9 d after emergence in both P treatments. Amounts of PEPC mRNA, PEPC specific activity, and enzyme protein were greater in proteoid roots than in normal roots beginning at 10, 12, and 14 d after emergence, respectively. The increases in PEPC mRNA, PEPC enzyme, and PEPC specific activity suggest that this enzyme is in part under transcriptional regulation. Recovery of organic acids from root exudates coincided with the increases in PEPC specific activity. The -P-treated plants exuded 40-, 20-, and 5-fold more citrate, malate, and succinate, respectively, than did +P-treated plants. Data presented support the hypothesis that white lupin has concerted regulation of proteoid root development, transcriptional regulation of PEPC, and biosynthesis of organic acids for exudation in response to P deficiency

Despite its abundance in the earth's crust, iron deficiency is a serious health issue in many parts of the world. Although fundamental observations about iron metabolism and the significance of iron nutriture were first noted some time ago, the molecular mechanisms involved in iron metabolism are just now being defined