Maximum Yield Australia/New Zealand March/April 2019 | Page 58

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you are,
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With symplastic movement, water and nutrients must
cross over a cell membrane to enter into the cytoplasm, a
gelatinous material inside the cell. Water and nutrients must
then travel upwards by moving through the cell walls. Think
of this as gaining access to bedrooms through the adjoining
walls instead of taking the hallway.
To recap the process of water and nutrient uptake,
we can reduce it to four basic steps:
• Step 1: Water and dissolved nutrients enter the
roots through the root hairs by the process of
osmosis or root force.
• Step 2: Water and dissolved nutrients then cross
over the root cortex either through symplastic or
apoplastic movements.
• Step 3: Water and dissolved nutrients enter the xylem.
• Step 4: Water and dissolved nutrients are sent up into
the plant stem in the transpiration stream to deliver
needed nutrition to all the shoots of the plant.
These processes will go on so long as the plant is alive,
and water and nutrients can be found in the soil. Periods of
drought will slow down these actions and, in some cases,
encourage root growth as plants seek deeper sources of
water and nutrition.
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Maximum Yield
Mycorrhizae: Roots’ Fungal Friend
Worthy of inclusion, though not a component of root anatomy
or function proper, is mycorrhizae. This lauded beneficial
fungus attaches itself to plant roots in a symbiotic embrace
that can exponentially increase the reach of any particular
root system. As many as 85 per cent of plants may owe all or
some of their nutrient uptake capacity to mycorrhizae. The
fungus not only gets fed while attaching itself to root systems,
but acts as a force multiplier by increasing the reach of plant
roots and the surface area of the root system. The hyphae, or
tentacles of the fungus, are much smaller than even the root
hairs and can therefore mine into much smaller crevices in
search of nutrients.
In addition to the basic and more complex functions described
earlier, roots also serve to aerate the soil they are anchored in
and can pull the plant closer to the dirt for protection from the
elements. All of these and more are functions of roots in the
care and feeding of the shoots.