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The correct environment of air, mineral nutrients and water directs plant roots to grow in any direction to meet the plant's needs. Roots will shy or shrink away from dry [23] or other poor soil conditions. Gravitropism directs roots to grow downward at germination, the growth mechanism of plants that also causes the shoot to grow upward. [24]
The plant uses the rhizome to store starches, proteins, and other nutrients. These nutrients become useful for the plant when new shoots must be formed or when the plant dies back for the winter. [4] If a rhizome is separated, each piece may be able to give rise to a new plant.
In some plants, such as the carrot, the taproot is a storage organ so well developed that it has been cultivated as a vegetable. The taproot system contrasts with the adventitious- or fibrous-root system of plants with many branched roots, but many plants that grow a taproot during germination go on to develop branching root structures ...
A fibrous root system is the opposite of a taproot system. It is usually formed by thin, moderately branching roots growing from the stem. A fibrous root system is universal in monocotyledonous plants and ferns. The fibrous root systems look like a mat made out of roots when the plant has reached full maturity.
Tuberous roots lack a definite shape; example: sweet potato. Fasciculated root (tuberous root) occur in clusters at the base of the stem; examples: asparagus, dahlia. Nodulose roots become swollen near the tips; example: turmeric. Brace roots arise from the first few nodes of the stem. These penetrate obliquely down into the soil and give ...
In return, the plant gains the benefits of the mycelium's higher absorptive capacity for water and mineral nutrients, partly because of the large surface area of fungal hyphae, which are much longer and finer than plant root hairs, and partly because some such fungi can mobilize soil minerals unavailable to the plants' roots. The effect is thus ...
In specific plant/root symbiotic relationships, the plant root secretes flavonoids into the soil, which is sensed by microbes, which release nod factors to the plant root, which promotes the infection of the plant root. These unique microbes carry out nitrogen fixation in root nodules, which supplies nutrients to the plant.
Besides carrying the weight of horizontal boughs, when the main trunk is destroyed due to ageing or accident, the established prop-roots support the remaining plant-body, thus helping in vegetative reproduction. E.g. Ficus benghalensis. The Great Banyan Tree at IBG Kolkata is an example how prop-roots help in vegetative reproduction.