In the Case Study "Osmosis is Serious Business" the young farmer believed that adding more fertilizer to the soil would help his corn plants grow more quickly. Since fertilizer contains nutrients that plants need, what caused his corn plants to wilt and die instead?

Hypertonic soil

Explanation:

In the case study, the young farmer added 60% more fertilizer believing that more fertilizer would simply cause the plants to grow faster. He thought that, since fertilizer helps plants grow, more fertilizer would simply accelerate the processes. He created, however, a hypertonic soil environment rich in potassium and phosphorous, causing the water to leave the corn cells to go to the soil (osmosis effect) leaving them to wither.