How are water and minerals transported in plants?
Water and minerals absorbed by the plant roots are passed into xylem as sap. Sap present in xylem is under tension or negative pressure as mesophyll and other cells of aerials parts lose water to the outside through transpiration.
Development of Negative Pressure: Loss of water by mesophyll and other cells of aerial parts in transpiration increases their suction pressure. They withdraw water from xylem channels. As there are billions of transpiring mesophyll cells withdrawing water from xylem channels, water present in xylem comes under negative pressure of 10-20 atmospheres. However, water column does not break due to
- Cohesive force amongst water molecules and
- Adhesion force between walls of xylem channels and water molecules.
Rise of Sap (Water and Minerals): Tension or negative pressure of water column results in upward pull just as cold-drink is sucked with the help of straw pipe. Since it develops due to transpiration, it is called transpiration pull. The mechanism of this ascent of sap was put forth by Dixon and July in 1894.