During a flu epidemic, doctors often refer to the vulnerability of older, unhealthy and younger people, as they are more pre-disposed to the disease through other weaknesses. In the case of trees, healthy roots (along with nutrition and management) lead to a more robust and healthier tree.
Four out of five hormones produced in a plant are made by the roots, and the pathway for water and nutrients also starts with the little white root hairs attached to the feeder roots.
Weak roots lead to weak trees and poor tolerance to stress.
Farmers and agronomists have gained most of their knowledge about roots using vegetables. It is easy to pull out a vegetable and look at the roots. If there is a mass of white healthy roots, then chances are we have a healthy plant. This is a little harder to do with trees, but having a dig in the root zone can uncover a lot of information.
Root growth can be impaired by nutrient imbalance, disease and nematode attack; and even more commonly, too little or too much water.
It is imperative that someone is digging around in the root zone of your trees, especially at critical growth stages. If there is no fresh white root growth, then action is required.
Roots are the brains of the plant
Crop scientists at Stoller refer to the roots as the ‘brains’ of the plant.
The root zone is like the control centre for the tree. Besides being an important site for water uptake, nutrient uptake and hormone production, the roots are where signals and regulation of all plant parts take place.
Proteins and hormones move around the plant triggering growth response at the shoots, fruits, roots and leaves.
Roots are sensitive to temperature change and moisture variation so we want them to grow in a stable environment with not all the root mass in one place or right near the soil surface.
continued next month
For more information, see Tree Fruit October 2014
