In plant nutrition, which statement best describes mobile nutrients?

• A. They stay in the tissues where they are placed.
• B. Mobile nutrients move from old tissues to new ones.
• C. They move from leaves to roots only.
• D. They are never translocated.

Answer: (B)

Mobile nutrients are those that can be remobilized within the plant from older, mature tissues to actively growing parts through the phloem. This ability to move allows the plant to reuse reserves as growth demands shift, so deficiency symptoms typically appear first in older leaves because the plant is pulling nutrients away from those tissues to support new growth. Examples include nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, and sulfur. In contrast, nutrients that stay put in the tissues where they were first deposited—like calcium—show deficiency in new, developing tissues. So the statement that best describes mobile nutrients is that they move from old tissues to new ones.