Root pressure is a vital parameter for all plants existing in nature. This is due to the fact that they do not have juice circulation in the manner of blood movement in the veins of animal organisms. The pressure in the roots causes the movement of juice in the "body" of the plant. In this article we will consider what root pressure means, what is its role in plant life.
Pressure role
The pressure value for undersized and shrub crops is different. In plants that are small in size, root pressure is a process that promotes life and development. They have it in the night and morning. It is noteworthy that for large plants it plays a slightly different role. For shrubs and trees, root pressure is a way to wake up winter buds and a catalyst for their development. According to scientists, this process is especially intense at night. Due to this, the root pressure of plants at night leads to faster growth. Visually, the result of pressure can be seen in some plants in the form of drops of juice on the stems.
What is a process?
Root pressure is a process that is osmotic and occurs in the cells of the root system. As a result, the juice contained in the plant trunk gets the opportunity to move to the leaves and top of the stem. It occurs in the xylem of crops during periods of increased soil moisture or at night. In order to measure the root pressure of plants, experts advise using pressure gauges. To perform this operation, it is necessary to cut off the plant trunk at the very surface of the soil. At this time, the juice will stand out from the cut. This can occur from an hour to several days.
The pressure in the roots of plants promotes the intensive distribution of nutrients in the root system and stem of the culture. In addition, this process pushes moisture up the stem, but this is not enough to explain the movement of water in the leaves on the tops of large trees. Root movement is a transporter of water and minerals from the roots to the tops of the crown. Scientists have proven that the maximum pressure in plants is 0.6 megapascals.
Water movement in plants
Scientists distinguish two ways that cause the movement of moisture up the plant stem. The first method is directly root pressure. In its process, water moves from the root system up the stem. However, root pressure is not able to raise moisture high enough, so there is another way. It is called transpiration. During this process, most of the water passes through the stomata. These are a kind of holes that are on the underside of the foliage. First, water under the influence of root pressure moves up, and then transpiration begins to work, and already it supplies moisture to the leaves. Water has polar molecules that, when drawn together, form a hydrogen bond. And water enters the xylem directly using osmosis. The evaporation process regularly occurs from the surface of the leaves. Therefore, for the normal existence of the plant, regular supply of moisture is so important. Without it, the life of any culture is impossible.