EXPLAIN IN DETAIL ABOUT ROOT HAIRS?

A root hair, or absorbent hair, the rhizoid of a vascular plant, is a tubular

outgrowth of a trichoblast, a hair-forming cell on the epidermis of a plant root. As
they are lateral extensions of a single cell and only rarely branched, they are
visible to the naked eye and light microscope. They are found only in the region of
maturation of the root. Just prior to, and during, root hair cell development, there
is elevated phosphorylase activity. Plants absorb water from the soil by osmosis.
Root hair cells are adapted for this by having a large surface area to speed up
osmosis. Another adaptation that they have is root hair cells have a large
permanent vacuole.

FUNCTION:
Root hairs are where most water absorption happens. They are long and so they
can penetrate between soil particles, and prevent harmful bacterial organisms
from entering the plant through the xylem vessels. They have a large surface area
for absorption of water. Increasing root surface area aids plants to be more
efficient in absorbing nutrients and establishing relationships with microbes.
Cross-section of root hair cell: a roughly rectangular shape with a long, thin tail
extending to the right and a nucleus at the top left. Water passes from the soil
water to the root hair cell’s cytoplasm by osmosis. This happens because the soil
water has a higher water potential than the root hair cell cytoplasm. The function
of root hairs is to collect water and mineral nutrients that are present in the soil
and take this solution up through the roots to the rest of the plant. As root hair
cells do not carry out photosynthesis they do not contain chloroplasts.

Formation:
Root hair cells are outgrowths at a tip of the plant's roots. Root hair cells vary
between 15 and 17 micrometers in diameter, and 80 to 1,500 micrometers in
length. They are found only in the zone of maturation, and not the zone of
elongation, possibly because any root hairs that arise are sheared off as the root
elongates and moves through the soil. Root hairs grow quickly, at least 1μm/min,
making them particularly useful for research on cell expansion.
Importance:
Root hairs form an important surface as they are needed to absorb most of the
water and nutrients needed for the plant. They are also directly involved in the
formation of root nodules in legume plants. The root hairs curl around the
bacteria which allows for the formation of an infection thread through into the
dividing cortical cells to form the nodule.
Having a large surface area, the active uptake of water and minerals through root
hairs is highly efficient. Root hair cells also secrete acid (H+ from malic acid) which
exchanges and helps solubilize the minerals into ionic form, making the ions
easier to absorb.
Plants require different nutritious substances present in the soil solution. Soil
solution is a mixture of soil particles, water and air etc. Different nutritional
elements are dissolved in water, which plants have to absorb. These nutritional
elements only can be absorbed in solution form by roots. The root hairs are single
celled, living structures which are directly in contact of soil solution. The water
gradient in root hair is lower than the soil solution . The water enters the root
hairs by means of osmosis. The diffusion and osmosis collectively pass the water
and minerals into the xylem channel. This continuous process of entering water
and minerals exert root pressure necessary for the ascent of sap in plants. In
higher plants transpiration pull co-act along with root pressure.

DIAGRAMTIC REPRESENTATION