Better Farming Series 1, The Plant Root

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A project of Volunteers in AsiaBetter Farmina Series No. 1, The Plant; TheLiving PLant: the RootPublished by:Food and Agricultuw Organization of theUnited Nation2~ Via delle lierme di CaracallaII 00100 RamsItalyPaper copies are $ 1.50.Available from:UNIPUBP.U. Box 433Murray Hill stationNew York, NF 10157 USAReproduced by pxnission of the Food andAgriculture Organization of the United Nations.Reproduction of this microfiche document in anyform is subject to the same restrictions as thoseof the original document.


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l3ETTER FARMING SERIES

Twenty-six titles have been published in this series,designed as handbooks for a two-year intermediatelevel agricultural education and training course.They may be purchased as a set or as individualdocuments.FIRST YEAR

I. The plant: the living plant; the root2. The plant: the stem; the buds; the leaves3. The plant: the flower4. The soil: how the soil is made up5. The soil: how to conserve the soil6. The soil: how to improve the soil7. Crop farming8. Animal husbandry: feeding and care of animals9. Animal husbandry: animal diseases; how animalsreproduce

SECOND YEAR10. The farm business survey12. Cattle breeding12. Sheep and goat breeding13. Keeping chickens14. Farming with animal power15. Cereals16. Roots and tubers17. Groundnuts18. Bananas19. Market gardening20. Upland rice21. Wet paddy or swamp rice22. Cocoa23. Coffee24. The oil palm25. The rubber tree26. The modern farm business


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etter series

The! living plantThe root

Published by arrangement with thelnstitut africain pour le d&eloppement konomique et socialBP. 8008, Abi.djan, C&e dlvoire

FOOD NDA6RICULTURERGANIZATIONF THEUNITED ATIONSRome 1976

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FAO Economic and Social Develcqxnent Series No. 3/l

First, printing 1970Second printing 1972Revised edition 1976

ISBN 92-5-l 00140-5

G French edition, lnstitut africain pourle dbvefoppement konomique et social (INADES) 1970

@English edition, FAQ 1976


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This manual is a translation and adaptation of La plante -la plante vit, la racine, published by the Agri-Service-Afrique of the lnstitut africain pour le developpement eco-nomique et social (INADES), and forms part of a series of26 booklets. Grateful acknowledgement is made to thepublishers for making avai:able this text; which it is hopedwill find widespread use it the intermediate level of agri-cultural education and training in English-speakingcountries.The original texts vvere prepared for an African enwiron-ment and this is naturally reflected in the English version.However, it is expected that many of the manuals of theseries - a list of which will be found on the inside frontcover - will also be of value for training in many otherparts of the world. Adaptations can be made to the textwhere necessary owing to different climatic and ecologicalconditions.Applications for permission to issue this manual in otherlanguages are welcomed. Such applications should beaddressed to: Director, Publications Division, Food andAgriculture Organization of the United Nations, Via delleTerme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy.The author of this English version is Mr. A.J. Henderson,former Chief of the FAO Editorial Branch.

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E OF COURSE

a Introduction ......................... 4VVhy do we study fie plant? ............. 4

The living plant ....................... 5We make tv,lo experiments .............. 8

The root .................. : ........ 14How is a root made? .................. 14How is a rootlet made? ............... 16How is the inside of a root made? ...... 18Different kinds of roDts .............. . 20Fibrous roots ..................... 21

Creeping roots ..................... 22Tap-roots ........................ 23Tuberous roots .................... 24Adventitious roots .................. 25e Sowing at the best density . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26@ Summary of course ..................... 27

What are roots for? .................. 27a Suggested question paper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

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PLAN OF WfiRKWI-w w --

FIRST VkEEKRead pages 4 to I? on the living plant.

Pay great attention as you read.@ Begin the experiments of making a plant germinatetind lifting a plant.

Look after what you have sown.Water t!\em every morning.

SECOND WEEKRead pages I 4 to 19, on:T* How a root is made.* How a rootlet is made.@ The inside of a root.To help your memoryread pages 4 to 13 again.Study the new lesson carefully.Make sure you understand what rootJets do (see page 17).This lesson is rather difficult,but it is important.


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Ti-ilRD WEEKRead pages 20 to 26 on the different kinds of roots.To help your memoryread pages 14 ?o 19 again.Look at the drawings carefullyso that you understand the form of roots.Study the page on sowing at the best density.Look at how you sow In your plantation or field.

FOURTH WEEKRead pages 27 and 28.Read the whole booklet again quickly.

e Try to answer the question paperwithout looking at the booklet.Write your answers on a piece of paper.Look in the booklet to see if your answers are right.Then write your answers on the question paper,without copying from th9 booklet.


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INTRODUCTIO

hy do we study the plant?

You want a good crop of yams or cotton.To get it you must learnl-,?w yams of c2tt:In grow.If you look after the plants properly\IOU wi II get good crops.

You want animals that are in good health and heavier.To get them , ysu must give themgo& grass and grains,Then you will get fat oxen and goats.

@ Too much nitrogen on groundnutsdoes not help groundnuts to grow better.Chloride on tobaccoprevents the leaves from burning.Nitrogen on maize

will produce stronger plants with more grain.So you must learn how to use fertilizers.

We must study plants and fertilizers. .

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THE LIVING

o Man is born, lives and dies.The plant too is born, lives and dies.

Man eats, feeds.The plant too eats, feeds.The plant gets its food in the soil,through its roots.

@ Man breathes.The plant breathes too,through its roots.

o Man reproduces himself, has children.The plant too reproduces itself.

It has flowers.It has fruits.It has seeds.

We must study how plants live.

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Man is born

Man lives

Mar; feeds

Bal! of millet

Man reproduces himself

Man dies

MAN AND PLANT ARE. BORNLIVEAND DIE


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Manure put into the earthfeeds the plant.

The plant feeds

The plant is born

plant

The plant lives

The plant reproduces itselfThe bean produces seedswhich will produceother bean plants.

The plant dies

MAN AND PLANT ARE BORNLIVEAND DIE7


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MAKE TM/O EXPERWIENTS

We are going to see how a plant is born,that is, make it germinate.A seed germinateswhen the stem and the root come out.

Then we shall lift a plant.Like this we shail understand betterthe course on the plant.

We shall make these two experimentsat the same time.

This w.iII enable us:

to see better,to observe better,to understand better

how a. plant growsand how a root is made.

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First experiment

MAKING A PLANT GERMINATE

1. Take some contait%t:which are n v layer wanted,for instav7c,stnr:~ jars, empty cans. cracked gourdsor gourds with holes in them.

Make a hole in the bottom of each container.Make it big enotigh for a pencil to go through.


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o Fill the containers with sand.You wil! easily find some.Do nol press the sand down.Leave some space above the sand.This space should beabout equal to a fingers, thiclcrless.e Put your containers under a treeso that they are not in the sun.

Put them on big palm fronds or on branchesso that they do not touch the ground.

a-orning sun Afternoon sun

l Get some water.

t=ontainers :I

I:I Branches

Pour water into your containers.It should flow over the edge.10


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o The water will pass into, the sandand will malke it damp.The surplus water will flow outthrough the hole in the bottom.The containers are separated from the groundby the palm fronds or the branches.The water can easily flow away.

Water,

Sand

Qb Sur9lus water-/-- ---

bI

(--- 1

l The surplus water does not flow out quickly.It stays on the surface of the sand.That is because the sand you have taken is too fine.You must begin again.Otherwise the seeds may not grow.

e Loo!< out for young goats and pigs.They may knock over the containers.Put up a screen to protect your seeds.

2. Leave vour containers of damp sandive seeds of maize, millet,

for a whole night.The next day take four or fcowpeas or beans.Sow one seedin the middle of each container.0

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3. Thg way to sow.

Push your finger very gently into the sandas shown in the sketch below.

Pushing the finger inlothe soil -

e When you have put the seed in the hollow made in thisway, cover the seed with a tiery little sand.

* After sowing, water lightly.If the water. uncovers the seed, add some sand.

Water every morning before the sun is really hot.

o Two or three days later,the root will grow,and five or six days afterwardsthe seed!ing will come above the soil.

The seed has germinated.The stem and root come out.

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THE ROOTHow is a root made?

We lifted a plant.Let us take a look at it.

What do we see?A green part,in the air- the stem.

o A grey part,in the soil- the roots.@ Between the stem and the roots- the collar, or crown.

Let us look at the roots.They are dividedinto smaller rootsand rootlets.

0 The smallest roots are called rootlets.The rootlets come at the end of the roots.

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AIR

Leaves

Stem

/Collar

15I

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How. is a rootlet made?

o There are parts of the rootletwhich perhaps you cannot see,because they are too smallor because they have remained in the ground.

To see them better, mal*e another seed germinate.Put a bean seed in the earth.After three days lift it carefully.The root should be about as long as a match.To see better you need a lens.Perhaps your teacher can lend you one.What do you see?

At the tip of the rootletthere is the root-cap.

1

The root-cap is small and hard.Its purpose is to enable the rootletto penetrate the soil.

@ On the rootletthere are absorptive hairs.a Above the absorptive hairsthere is a dark, hard part.

This is the oldest part of the root.It does not take in food.It does not absorb food.


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The absorptive hairs ef rhe rootlet

1 There are very many of these hairs, but they are very thin,very short and very fragile.YCI may not be able to see them.

These hairs are like those on your head,but they are very short, and thin,and there are very many of them.

These hairsare called absorptive hairsbecause they take from the soilthe food which the plant needsin order to live and grow.

They are like iittle mouthswhich take in foodfor the plant.

The hairs absorb food.

A rootlet

A plant feeds onlythrough the absorp6:e hairs cm its rootlets.

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How is the inside of a root made?Let us cut a root with a knife.

What do we see?

On the outside is the skin.

Under the skin is a hard, moist part,where the sap flows in little tubes called vesselsthat make up the vascular system.Through this system the sap flows.In man blood flowsthrough veins and other vessels.In the plant sap flowsthrough the vessels.

AbsorptivehairsVessels carrying>ap in the root


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What are the foods which the plant takesfrc!m the soil?

They are mineral salts.

In the soil,mixed with it,are mineral salts.These mineral salts are the plants food.

The mineral salts and the water are absorbedby the root hairs.They become sap in the plant.

When there are plenty of mineral salts in the soil,the soil is rich. The plant grows well.

@ When there are not many mineral salts in the soil,the soil is poor. The plant grows badly.

The soil can be given mineral saltsin the form of fertilizers and manure.

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are alike.

The roots of a mango tree,an orange treeand a lemon tree

are alike.

DIFFERENT KINDS OF ROOTS

o The roots of a maize plant,il millet plantand a rice plant

o The roots of maize, millet and rice are not .!ikethose of the mango tree, the orange tree

and the lemon tree.

e Different plants have different roots.

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RBROUS ROOTS

Some plants have small, thin roots,all of the same length.

These roots form a tuft,as for instance the roots of onion,rice,mi I et,maize.

fibrous roots

* A plant that has many small rootsof t,he same length,the same thickness,the same shape,has fibrous roots.

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CREE PING ROOTS

Some piants have rootsthat are shallow and long.

o Creeping roots do not go deep into the soil.

Thpse roots go a long way from the base of the plant.They cover a large area.

They have to find in a small depth of earththe food necessary for the life of the plant.

Many trees have creeping roots.

e A plant that has shallow, very long rootshas creeping roots.


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TAP-ROOTSSome plants have only one root,very thick,dew,straight,

called a tap-root.o Smaller roots grow on this thick root;they are called rootlets.

Tap-roots go deep into the soil.They cannot penetrate soil that is too hard.

Types of tap-root

@ Cotton, coffee, cocoa, okra, carrots, papayasall have a root that goes deep into the soil,is very thick and straight.They have a tap-root.

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Cassava roots

~1 A plant that stores up reserves in thick rootshas tubeidus roots. .Dlstrlbut dora Lewis S A. Edlfticlo Dorasol. Calle 25 y Aventda Balboa. Apartado 1634.Panama 1llbrerla Juan Mejla Baca. Azangaro 722. Lima.The Modsrn Book Compaqy. 928 Rlzal Avenue, Manda.Ars Polona-R uth. Krakowskle Przedmlescle -, Warsaw.Llvrarla Bertrand, S A.R L Apartado 37, Amadora: Llvrarla Portuga l. Dlas y AndradeLtda Apartado 2681. Rua do Carmo 70-74. Lisbon 2Funda clnn DominIcana de Desarroi:o. Casa de las Gargolas. Mercedes 4. Santo Dommgo.Ilexim. Caltd Grlvrtei No 64-66, PU. Box 2001. Bucharest.Khazi.ldar Establishment. king Faysal Street, RiyadhMPH Distributors Sdn. Bhd 71/77 Stamford Road. Singapore 6* Samaters , P.O. Box 936. Mo gadishuM.D. Gunasen a and Co. Ltd. 217 Norris Road. Colombo 11.Librairle Payot S.A . Lausanne et Geneva: Hans Raunha rdt. Ktrchgasse 17. Zurich I.C E Frltzes Kungl Hnvbokhandel. Fredsgatan 2. 103 27 Stockholm 16Dar es Salaam Bookshop. P.D. Box 9030. Dar es Salaam.Suksapan Panit. Man.cron 9. Rajadamne rn Avenue, Bangkok.Librairie du Bon Pasteur. B.P. 1164. LomB.Guven Kitabevi Miidafaa Cad.. Gljven Buildin g 12/S. AnxaraHer Matestys Stationery Office, 49 High Holborn. Londor~. W.C.i; P.O. Box 569. London.SE.1 (trade an d London area mail orders); 13a Castle S:re..+t. Edinb urgh EH2 3AR:109 St. Mary Street. Cardi ff CFl IJW: 7 Linenha ll,Street. Belfast BT2 EAY: BrazennoseStreet, IManchester M60 BAS: 258 Broad Street. Birmingham 1; Southey House.Wine Street, Bri stol BSl 280.UNIPUB. 650 First Avenue, P.O. Box 433. Murray Hill Station, New York. N.Y. 10016.Juan Angel Peri. Alzaibar 1328. Casilla de Correos 1755. Montevideo.Blume Dlstrlbu ldora S.A., Calle 3. N SO& Ouinta Palmera Sola. Campo Alegrc. Chacao,CsracasJugosloverska Knliga. Terazije 27 /11. Belgrade; Cankarjeva Zalozba, P.O. BOX 201.IV,

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Documents

Better Farming Series 1, The Plant Root