Final answer:
High soil salinity disrupts osmotic balance by drawing water out of plant cells, causing plasmolysis and wilting. Osmosis balances water and nutrient uptake and is critical for maintaining plant health through osmoregulation and turgor pressure.
Step-by-step explanation:
High concentrations of fertilizer salts in soil can damage plants due to the process of osmosis, which is the diffusion of water across a semi-permeable membrane. When the soil is high in salts, it becomes hypertonic compared to the plant cells. This means that there is a higher concentration of solutes outside the plant which causes water to be drawn out of the plant's root cells via osmosis, leading to cell shrinkage, or plasmolysis, and ultimately the plant may wilt or die. The correct answer to the question is (c) Osmosis balances water and nutrient uptake, as it indicates the role osmosis plays in regulating the movement of water into and out of plant cells depending on the salinity of the soil. An understanding of osmosis is essential for osmoregulation, the maintenance of water and salt balance which is critical for plant health.
Osmotic balance is crucial as plants rely on a continuous supply of water for photosynthesis and to maintain turgor pressure, which supports non-woody plants and keeps them upright. High soil salinity disrupts this balance and can have dire consequences on plant vitality. Therefore, farmers must ensure that soil salinity levels are moderated to allow optimal water uptake through osmosis.