Maize’s Roots Reaction after Damage of the Leaf

Posted: January 4th, 2023

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Maize’s Roots Reaction after Damage of the Leaf

The leaf of a maize plant appears above the ground, and is usually green. Its main purposes are exchange of gas and photosynthesis. Often, a leaf is flat to maximize its ability to absorb light, and usually thin to allow the sunlight to reach the chloroplasts situated in the internal cells (Hsiao and Xu 1598). The maize’s leaf has stomata, which open and close to permit the exchange of the vital components such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, and oxygen (Hsiao and Xu 1598). Cutting or harming the leaf of a maize plant in adverse ways, however, could have severe repercussions on the plant, particularly on the roots that play equally essential roles. Failure by the maize plant to perform well following the damage of the leaves makes it necessary to understand the reactions taking place in the leaves and the root after damage. The study holds that cutting or pruning the leaves of a maize plant could affect food production and transpiration, which ultimately results in inadequate storage of starch in the cortex and poor functionality of the endodermal cells, as well as inhibit the proper development of other parts of the plant such as the stem and the tassel.

The chief function of a plant as already indicated is to make food for the maize plant through the process of photosynthesis. Other than the epidermis, which is the outermost protective part of the leaf, the mesophyll, which is the central part of the leaf comprises of soft-walled tissues called the parenchyma (Hsiao and Xu 1600). It is at the mesophyll where most of the chloroplasts are situated. After absorbing sunlight, the chloroplasts together with certain enzymes in the leaf utilize radiant energy to break down water into elements such as oxygen and hydrogen (Hsiao and Xu 1602). The hydrogen generated through the enzymatic action fuses with carbon dioxide through the process of photosynthesis to create sugars that are the vital for the plant’s survival and development (Hsiao and Xu 1602). Other than inhibiting food production, cutting or pruning the leaves of a maize plant could have severe effects because the plant would not be able to carry out the evaporation of water effectively (Hsiao and Xu 1603). The water the plant absorbs using its roots are released to the atmosphere during the day, and the process usually takes place through the stomata in a process called transpiration (Hsiao and Xu 1605). The phenomenon permits the plant to take in mineral salts and water from the soil and pushes the same to the topmost part of the plant.

Cutting or pruning the leaves of a maize plant affect the reactions taking place in the internal structure of maize’s monocot roots. When the leaves are cut or pruned, the hairs found on the epiblema that are unicellular start to function improperly because they cannot absorb more mineral salts and water from the soil due to lack of an avenue to release them to the atmosphere  (BrainKart). Cutting the leaves also affect the cortex which is a vital part of a monocot plant because the parenchyma cells that are thin-walled with many intercellular spaces will not be able to store enough starch because most of this component which is crucial for the plant’s development is created through photosynthesis that takes place on the leaves (Hochholdinger et al. 364). Furthermore, cutting or damaging the maize’s leaves make it hard to achieve proper transportation functions in the cortex because even as cells transport dissolved salts and water from the cortex to the xylem the unwanted components would not escape through the damaged leaves (Ryan et al. 557). More importantly, cutting or harming the maize’s leaves without much care could affect the pith that is located at the central position of the root (Singh et al. 292). The plant in this case would exhibit poor growth and development due to inadequate starch grains that are stored within the parenchyma cells inside the pith.

Other than yielding adverse effects on the roots, cutting the leaves of a maize plant could be detrimental to the proper formation and functioning of the stem that serves an equally essential purpose. Cutting the leaves, for instance, could affect the formation of the hypodermis that lies below the epidermis that is the outermost part of the stem (BrainKart). Affecting or damaging the leaves severely results in a situation where the hypodermis that comprises of a several layers of sclerenchymatous cells is not able to offer adequate mechanical support to the plant due to lack of the necessary nutrients that mainly form following successful photosynthesis (BrainKart). There is no separation into cortex, endodermis, pericycle, and pith as it happens with the roots of the maize plant, but rather the whole mass of the parenchymatous cells below the hypodermis form the ground tissue (BrainKart). The cells of the ground tissue mainly comprises of cellulose, as well as reserve food content such as starch. Cutting or damaging the leaves, however, puts ground tissue part of the stem at considerable risk because of the inability of this section to acquire and store enough starch to promote healthy development of the stem and the entire plant (BrainKart). The stem in this case may not serve the essential purpose of offering mechanical support to the plant, and may not be as effective as required in the transportation of water and mineral salts.

Cutting or severely harming the leaves of a male maize plant could inhibit the development of the corn tassel at the top of the plant that are responsible for producing pollens that are moved by wind to pollinate the part of a female plant called the silk. Normally, the tassel can emit up to 25 million pollen grains that are viable 65-240 minutes after shedding and can be moved further than 300 meters (Duangpapeng et al. 2). The ear of corn often emits at least 1100 filled kernels, and every tassel gives excess pollen to pollinate up to 3 female rows. The pollen emitted by the tassel plays crucial roles in producing antioxidants and has high content of oils, protein, and sugar that are vital for the growth and development of the corn plant (Duangpapeng et al. 2). Nonetheless, harming the leaves of the plant could affect the healthy and proper formation of the tassel, and the male plant may not carry out pollination as expected. The leaves offer the platform on which photosynthesis takes place and it is through this crucial process that the tassel receives the nutrients it highly requires to develop and form pollens that are viable enough to pollinate a female plant (Duangpapeng et al. 3). It is vital, therefore, to take precaution not to affect the leaves of the corn plant because other than harming the roots and the stem, the tassel is at considerable risk of not developing properly thereby inhibit the proper development of female plants that farmers also depend on to be a source of food.

The study passes vital lessons to farmers and other people responsible for planting and tending for maize plant. The study informs the need to take extra care when incising or pruning the leaves to avoid causing severe harms that could affect the plant’s ability to sustain itself. Farmers may seek training on how to practice effective pruning to avoid harming the parts of the leaves or roots that are essential in promoting growth. Otherwise, farmers will continue to lament about the low returns they get from their maize plantation.

Conclusion

The study examines the effects of incising or pruning the leaves of a maize plant by looking at the reactions that take place in the roots after damage. It emerges that incision or pruning the leaves, however important at certain times, could affect the plant in significant ways. Damaging the leaves could tamper with the various parts of the root system that play vital roles in the growth and development of the plant. Such parts that could be affected due to damaging of the leaves include the epiblema that takes in mineral salts and water from the soil, the cortex that store crucial components, and the pith that contains the starch that the plant uses as food. It is also critical to ensure that the leaves of a corn plant do not suffer severe damage because this could have detrimental effects to the proper formation and functioning of the stems as well as on the tassel that is responsible for producing pollen grains that allow for pollination to take place. Farmers or people tending to maize farms, therefore, should borrow helpful lessons from the study to avoid harming the plant through excessive incision or pruning of the leaves.

Works Cited

BrainKart. “Primary Structure of Monocotyledonous Root – Maize Root.” BrainKart, 2019, https://www.brainkart.com/article/Primary-structure-of-monocotyledonous-root—Maize-root_1026/. Accessed on 19 December, 2019.

Duangpapeng, Prakasit et al. “Corn Tassel: A New Source of Phytochemicals and Antioxidant Potential for Value-Added Product Development in the Agro-Industry.” Agronomy, vol. 8, no. 242, 2018, pp. 1-17.

Hochholdinger, Frank et al. “Genetic Dissection of Root Formation in Maize (zea mays) Reveals Root-Type Specific Developmental Programmes.” Annals of Botany, vol. 93, no. 4, 2004, pp. 359-368.

Hsiao, Theodore and Xu Liu-Kang. “Sensitivity of Growth of Roots Versus Leaves to Water Stress: Biophysical Analysis and Relation to Water Transport.” Journal of Experimental Botany, vol. 51, no. 350, 2000, pp. 1595-1616.

Ryan, Peter et al. “Plant Roots: Understanding Structure and Function in an Ocean of Complexity.” Annals of Botany, vol. 118, no. 4, 2016, pp. 555-559.

Singh, Vijaya et al. “Morphological and architectural development of the root systems in sorghum and maize.” Plant Soil, vol. 333, 2010, pp. 287-299.