The key difference between macronutrients and micronutrients is that the macronutrients are the elements plants need in high amounts while micronutrients are the elements plants need in minute amounts.
Plants cannot complete its life cycle in the absence of elements called essential elements. Essential elements can be classified into two basic categories such as mineral elements and non-mineral elements. Non-mineral elements are Carbon, Hydrogen, and Oxygen. On the other hand, there are 16 other essential mineral elements. Essential mineral elements can be again categorized as macronutrients and macronutrients according to the amount of these elements in plant tissue. These essential elements have several types of roles, including forming carbon compounds, energy storage reactions, as cofactors for enzymes, and electron transferring. Essential elements can be mobile or immobile. Elements like N, P, and K can move from leaf to leaf. Therefore, if there is a deficiency in N, P, K, matured leaves show the symptoms, since elements are recycled from older leaves to younger leaves. If elements are immobile, younger leaves show the symptom of deficiency.
