Transport system in flowering plants

• Vacuoles in the root hairs of a plant normally contain a higher concentration of solute than the surrounding soil solution. Water therefore enters the root hairs by osmosis as a result of these their vacuoles become less concentrated than those of the adjacent root cortex cells . Water therefore passes into these cells by osmosis.
• Water moves through the root cortex from cell to cell by three different pathways

  1. Along cellulose cell wall
  2. In the cytoplasm
  3. From vacuole to vacuole
• Mineral salts necessary for healthy growth of a plant are found in ionic form, dissolved in the soil water surrounding the roots
• Active transport is an energy requiring process that involves the use of ATP molecules to pump substances against their concentration gradient.
• The two processes involved in the absorption of minerals are diffusion amd active transport
• Active transport requires energy (ATP) and moves substances up their concentration gradients. This means it can move substances from areas of lower concentration to areas of higher concentration. Active transport is important because many essential nutrients cannot be absorbed by passive diffusion alone.
• Diffusion is a passive process and can only occur when the concentration of a particular mineral element is greater in the soil solution than in the root hairs cell sap.
• Translocation is the movement of dissolved products of photosynthesis(mainly) sucrose from the leaves to the other parts of the plant
• The cambium tissues are made up of narrow living cells , they are capable of multiplying and dividing thereby enabling the plants to produce secondary xylem and phleom
• The xylem tissue consiconsists of mainly dead cells with lignified cell walls ,

  they are responsible for transporting water and dissolved mineral salts from the roots to other parts of the plant .
• The phleom tissue consists of thin walled living cells with dense cytoplasm, The phlegm tissue transport manufactured food from the leaves to other parts of the plant either for use or storage
• Processes which aid transportation in plants

  1. Translocation
  2. Transpiration
  3. Absorption ofnwater and mineral salts
  4. Transport of water in the xylem tissue