why do roots grow downwards? can we make them grow upwards?

Question

question is related to biotechnology

Answer 1

The roots are produced in the tips of the shoots, growing downward in cortex to emerge at soil level.
The new roots grow downwards and, depending on cultural practices, enter the topsoil or die off before reaching the soil.
Instead of growing downwards, most of the trees roots grow outwards forming a criss - crossing net that anchors the tree in the ground.
An example of tree roots not growing downward is J rooted seedlings. This is generally caused by an over or under supply of water .
At germination, roots grow downward due to gravitropism, the growth mechanism of plants that also causes the shoot to grow upward. In some plants (such as ivy), the " root " actually clings to walls and structures; this is known as thigmotropism, or response to touch.
Roots: - Stilt roots emerging in arches from the lower trunk, and prop roots may grow downwards from branches.
The main root of a plant , usually stouter than the lateral roots and growing straight downward from the stem.
APOGEOTROPIC ROOTS - Apogeotropic roots are roots that grow upwards to the soil surface (other roots grow downwards), emerging from the soil and growing upwards.
If the tree you are planting has downward growing roots or poor surface roots, consider ground layering it by tying a wire around the base of the trunk (see New Nebari ).
Deep watering reaches far below the soils surface and encourages roots to grow downwards. Its healthier for your tree, far more efficient, and ultimately saves time, money and headaches.

Answer 2

Technically the roots are spreading outward to collect the nutrients it needs to survive since the ground is generally down and it has a lot nutrients that's where the roots will go.

If you were to engineer some way for fertile soil to be suspended in a container above the ground level and keep the seed or saplings from falling out of place than roots would extend upwards because generally the deeper the soil the more nutrients available...

Although there is most likely a means and technology to accomplish all that the scenario I just gave is purely hypothetical...

I just looked at the answers given before me, maybe you should listen to goldenrain instead of me on this one...

Answer 3

In vascular plants, the root is that organ of a plant body that typically lies below the surface of the soil (compare with stem).

However, this is not always the case, since a root can also be aerial (that is, growing above the ground) or aerating (that is, growing up above the ground or especially above water).

On the other hand, a stem normally occurring below ground is not exceptional either (see rhizome). So, it is better to define root as a part of a plant body that bears no leaves, and therefore also lacks nodes. There are also important internal structural differences between stems and roots.

The two major functions of roots are
1) absorption of water and inorganic nutrients
2) anchoring the plant body to the ground. Roots also function in cytokinin synthesis, which supplies some of shoot needs. They often function in storage of food.


eg. mangroves have their roots growing upwards

Answer 4

Roots are positively Geo-tropic, that means they grow towards the ground. The hormones that help in the development of the roots are found at the tip of the root as a result of gravitational action.

Like the shoot of the plant is negatively geo-tropic; thus, it will grow opposite to gravity. You may have noticed that even climbers have the tendency to grow upwards.

Similarly the roots have the tendency of growing downwards. But, the most important function of the root is to provide nutrients for the plant. If no nutrients are found going downwards the roots will grow in all directions to find nutrients. Therefore, if the soil beneath is devoid of nutrients and nutrients are only in the upper layer, the roots will grow towards where the nutrients are.

Answer 5

Gravitropism (or geotropism) is a turning or growth movement by a plant or fungi in response to gravity. Roots show positive gravitropism and stems show negative gravitropism. That is, roots grow in the direction of gravitational pull (i.e., downward) and stems grow in the opposite direction (i.e., upwards).

Roots bend in response to gravity due to a regulated movement of the plant hormone auxin known as polar auxin transport.

Some agravitropic mutants have also been isolated in Arabidopsis thaliana (one of the genetic model systems for plant research) and their roots have a weak response to gravity and grow in random directions.

You could probably genetically engineer a plant, inserting negative gravitropism genes from the stem into the root cells, to make them grow against the direction of gravity.

Answer 6

Roots grow down into the soil to get to the nutrients and water in the ground.

I'm sure they could grow UP if you had a pot that would hold dirt in and let the plant grow out the bottom

Answer 7

they grow down obviously to gather nutrients and water but the reason that they "know" to grow downward is most likely evolutionary. plants that had roots that grew downward were the ones that got more nutrients and water so they outcompeted other ones that did not know to do that. the general belief is that it is based on gravity, they grow toward gravity, if there was a gravitational feild above them but the dirt was below them, they would be in trouble, because most of them grow toward the pull of gravity. be imaginative and you can design experiments to test this yourself.

Answer 8

No the roots grow downwards as the gravity of the earth pulls it towards the ground but in case of shoot it is above the soil

Answer 9

rain falls to the ground and root feed on ground water , so it is not possible for a roo t to grow upwards it will surely die for lack of food or nurient.

Answer 10

Plants orient themselves from environmental cues and they sense gravity. It is of obvious advantage for a plant to direct shoot growth upward and root growth downward. FYI: When growth is directed by gravity, the plant is said to show geotropism.