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The cohesion-tension theory is a theory of intermolecular attraction that explains the process of water flow upwards (against the force of gravity) through the xylem of plants. It was proposed in 1894 by John Joly and Henry Horatio Dixon .
Although several mechanisms have been proposed to explain how sap moves through the xylem, the cohesion-tension mechanism [1] has the most support. Although cohesion-tension has received criticism due to the apparent existence of large negative pressures in some living plants, experimental and observational data favor this mechanism. [2] [3]
According to cohesion-tension theory, water transport in xylem relies upon the cohesion of water molecules to each other and adhesion to the vessel's wall via hydrogen bonding combined with the high water pressure of the plant's substrate and low pressure of the extreme tissues (usually leaves).
The forces of cohesion and adhesion cause the water molecules to form a column in the xylem. Water moves from the xylem into the mesophyll cells, evaporates from their surfaces and leaves the plant by diffusion through the stomata
3- Water moves from the xylem into the mesophyll cells, evaporates from their surfaces and leaves the plant by diffusion through the stomata. In plants, the transpiration stream is the uninterrupted stream of water and solutes which is taken up by the roots and transported via the xylem to the leaves where it evaporates into the air/ apoplast ...
The continuity of the water column remains intact due to the cohesion between the molecules and it acts as a rope. Roots simply act as a passive organ of absorption. As transpiration proceeds, water absorption occurs simultaneously to compensate the water loss from the leaf end. Most volume of water entering plants is by means of passive ...
The pressure flow hypothesis, also known as the mass flow hypothesis, is the best-supported theory to explain the movement of sap through the phloem of plants. [1] [2] It was proposed in 1930 by Ernst Münch, a German plant physiologist. [3]
Cohesion, along with adhesion (attraction between unlike molecules), helps explain phenomena such as meniscus, surface tension and capillary action. Mercury in a glass flask is a good example of the effects of the ratio between cohesive and adhesive forces.