50mm Golf Ball Airstone – Air stones – ideal for aerating nutrient solutions!

Most people don’t think of oxygen as something plants need but, rather, something that plants create. Though it is true that plants create oxygen as a by-product of photosynthesis, it may be surprising to find out that plants, more specifically the living cells found within the plants, require oxygen for converting sugars into energy. Plants naturally create oxygen during photosynthesis which means any green portion of the plant (leaves and stems) has access to plenty of oxygen. However, all plant cells need oxygen, including the plant’s cells that are found underground. The cells found in the roots of a plant can’t get oxygen from photosynthesis so rely instead on absorbing oxygen from the environment around them to survive. Buried roots absorb oxygen from small air spaces in the soil. You may have heard the term “drowning” a plant. This refers to a plant that is overwatered and whose roots are unable to receive oxygen. When the cells in the roots do not have access to oxygen, they will die and this can cause the entire plant to die as well. This is why it is so important to make sure the soil and/or nutrient solution is properly aerated to maintain enough oxygen for the plant cells found in the root mass.

Another reason why oxygen around the root mass is so important is that beneficial microorganisms rely on
oxygen-rich environments to live and reproduce. On the other hand, pathogenic organisms do not survive well in oxygen-rich environments. In fact, most pathogenetic microorganisms only thrive in oxygen-depleted environments, which is why they are considered anaerobic organisms. Oxygen around a plant’s rhizosphere directly affects the population of beneficial microorganisms that provide multiple benefits to a plant, including increasing nutrient uptake and protection from pathogens.