Transportation in Plants

- The soil is the nearest and richest source of raw materials like nitrogen, phosphorus and other
minerals.
- The energy required for transport of substances from soil to the leaves depends on different body
designs of the plants
i. If the distances between soil-contacting organs and chlorophyll containing organs
are small, energy and raw materials can easily diffuse to all parts of the plant
body.
ii. But if these distances become large because of changes in plant body design,
diffusion processes will not be sufficient to provide raw material in leaves and
energy in roots. A proper system of transportation is therefore essential in such
situations.
- Energy requirements of plants are less when compared animals
i. Plants do not move
ii. plant bodies have a large proportion of dead cells in many tissues.
iii. use relatively slow transport systems which requires less energy.
- Plant transport systems will move energy stores from leaves and raw materials from roots.
i. the xylem moves water and minerals obtained from the soil.
ii. phloem transports products of photosynthesis from the leaves where they are
synthesized to other parts of the plant.

Transport of water
- two physical forces that helps in transport of water
i. Root Pressure
ii. Transpiration pull
- Root pressure: osmotic pressure within the cells of a root system that causes sap to rise through a
plant stem to the leaves.
- The loss of water in the form of vapour from the aerial parts of the plant is known as
transpiration.
- Functions of transpiration:
i. transpiration helps in the absorption and upward movement of water and
minerals dissolved in it from roots to the leaves.
ii. It also helps in temperature regulation.

LV 1
 - The effect of root pressure in transport of water is more important at night. During the day when
the stomata are open, the transpiration pull becomes the major driving force in the movement of
water in the xylem.
Xylem Transport:
- In xylem tissue, vessels and tracheids of the roots, stems and leaves are interconnected to form a
continuous system of water-conducting channels reaching all parts of the plant.
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- At the roots, cells in contact with the soil actively take up ions.
⬇
- This creates a difference in the concentration of these ions between the root and the soil.
⬇
- Water, therefore, moves into the root from the soil to eliminate this difference.
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- This means that there is steady movement of water into root xylem, creating a column of water that
is steadily pushed upwards.
⬇

- evaporation of water molecules from the cells of a leaf creates a suction which pulls water from the
xylem cells of roots.
Transport of food and other substances:
- The products of metabolic processes, particularly photosynthesis, are moved from leaves, where
they are formed, to other parts of the plant. This transport of soluble products of photosynthesis is
called translocation.
- it occurs in the part of the vascular tissue known as phloem. The translocation of food and other
substances takes place in the sieve tubes with the help of adjacent companion cells both in
upward and downward directions.
- Substances that are transported through phloem:
i. Products of photosynthesis- Photosynthates – glucose, Sucrose, Fructose, starch
etc.
ii. amino acids and other substances
- What is the fate of substances that are transported through phloem
- These substances that are transported through phloem delivered to the storage organs of roots,
fruits and seeds and to growing organs.

- Steps in Phloem Transport:

- the translocation in phloem is achieved by utilization energy. Material like sucrose is transferred
into phloem tissue using energy from ATP.
⬇
Resulting in an increased osmotic pressure
⬇
This increases the osmotic pressure of the tissue causing water to move into it.
⬇
This pressure moves the material in the phloem to tissues which have less pressure.
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This allows the phloem to move material according to the plant’s needs.
- Source and Sink in food transportation:
LV 2
- Source is the part from which food is transported to various parts of the plant and sink is the part
that receives food. Normally in plants, as leaves are the organs which prepares food, they serve as
the source and stem, root and other parts serves as the sink. But the source and sink changes
according to the seasons
- For example, in the spring, sugar stored in root or stem tissue would be transported to the
buds which need energy to grow.

1. Write the difference between xylem and phloem transport.

2. Define transpiration.
3. How is the process of transpiration useful to the plants?
4. ‘Transpiration is known as a necessary evil.’ Justify the statement.
5. Name the tissues which
i. Transport soluble products of photosynthesis in plants.
ii. Transport water and minerals in plants
6. Name the materials transported by
i. Xylem
ii. Phloem
7. Which mechanism plays an important role in transportation of water in plants
i. During night
ii. During day
8. What is translocation? How does it take place in plants?
9. How does water and minerals transported through xylem?
10. Why plants energy needs are less?
11. Why do plants have a slow transport system?
12. ‘Phloem transport prepared food from leaves to various parts of the plant body’. Is this statement
always true? Justify your answer with one example.
13. Name the components of xylem and phloem that helps in the transportation and translocation
respectively?
14.

LV 3
15.

LV 4