Transport in Plants

Uses of water
a. Medium of transport
b. Maintaining turgor pressure
c. Cools the plant
d. Raw material of photosynthesis
e. Needed in metabolic reactions
Water & Minerals go from the roots to cells
Manufactd materials eg, glucose from pt of prod to needed
areas
Waste from pt of prod to old leaves / stem/
bark
Growth substances auxin from pt of manufacture to tips
of cells

Vasuclar tissue(bundle) found in roots, stems, leaves

Xylem -long elongated dead cells
narrow and hard due to lignin
transports water and minerals

Phloem -sieve tubes with perforated walls of living cells

No nucleus / large vacuole
Companion cells next to sieve tubes has nucleus, cyto
to help the sieve tubes
Sieve tubes provide energy from respiration

Active transport – provides energy for

movement of minerals in the xylem
from low to high concentrations.

Translocation -transports
manufactured food from photosynthesis goes to roots, fruit
and seedsas well as to cotyledons and young roots and shoots

Transpiration loss of water vapour from the leaves

Transpiration stream flow of water from roots to leaves

Water enters roots hairs via osmosis root hair for greater
s.area
Water moves from the root hairs to the xylem
Water moves up the xylem to the leaves
Water then loss from the leaves to the air by evaporation
Movement up the xylem
Capillarity water molecules attracted to each other and the
walls of the vessel(eg. Straw in water)
Root pressure uptake of water by the roots exerts a
pressure to the xylem (high in root to low
in leaves)
Transpiration pull constant loss of water by evaporation
causes continuous pull of water up the
plant

Factors affecting the rate of

transpiration
Light increasing light intensity increases
diffusion
Humidity high humidity slows transpiration
Wind windy conditions increases diffusion rate
Temperature high temp favors evaporation
Water supply stomata and guard cells control flow

Lenticels water vapour leaves plants via open

lenticels in stems

Plants always try to conserve water

Stomata
Rolled leaves
Thick epidermis and waxy cuticle
Extensive root system to get available water