Woody System

Week 2 reading: woody plant growth and development; shoot system. I find knowledge of the shoot system and its inner workings in woody plants to be important to understanding how why they grow the way they do. The shoot system supports everything on the plant including buds, leaves, flowers and fruit. It also functions in the transport of water, minerals and nutrients and in the storage of nutrients. The stem is where visible above ground growth occurs. Growth occurs through meristematic tissue either through the terminal or apical bud and the vascular cambium. Knowledge of growth areas of the shoot system can aid you in making pruning and shaping choices. When pruning to direct growth or avoid an obstacle it is good to know what will

There are several ways to determine nutrient requirements these include; soil analysis, tissue or foliar analysis and visual inspection. In my opinion a soil analysis is the best way to determine fertilizer requirements and should be done before fertilizer is used. A soil analysis can tell you what is in your soil and what you need according to the nutrient requirements of the desired species. Soil analyses are conducted by removing small cores of samples of soil and taking them to a lab to be tested. Not only can nutrient levels be tested for but also pH, salt content, bulk density and even compaction levels. Tissue or foliar analysis is still a relatively new technique but I can see how useful it could be. Knowledge of what a plant possesses as far as nutrients and what it needs would tell you exactly what to fertilize. Visual inspection would require the most experience of any of the methods in order to diagnose issues properly. Generally any deviation from normal, healthy appearance is a clue to a nutrient deficiency. Although visual identification may not always be reliable as some issues such as drought or excess water may look similar to nutrient deficiencies. When you know what nutrients need to be added to a soil you can avoid wasteful and environmentally stressing fertilizer applications that are not worth their weight. If fertilizer is added to the soil that is not needed

The relationship between soil and water may be the most important relationship to the survival of plant life. When a soil type or soil texture is known then watering practices can be better planned out and implemented. For example a sandy soil will need watering much more than a clayey soil. This is because the pore spaces between the sandy soil particles are much larger and will allow the water to infiltrate and leach through the soil much more quickly than the clayey soil with its smaller pore spaces and small soil particle size. When a soil is saturated and then allowed to drain it is known as its field capacity. Knowing your field capacity and soil texture is important when irrigating as it can help determine the amount of water needed to properly water the soil without over-saturation. Often times in landscape situations people will overwater in an attempt to keep their landscapes healthy. Although this action has good intentions it often results in a bad situation as over-watered saturated soil can actually cause plants to suffocate. Roots need to be able to breathe and do so within the air-filled pore spaces within the soil. When a soil is over-watered and saturated these pore spaces are filled with water effectively cutting off the air-supply to a plants root system. In general I have learned that plants are much more tolerant of drought conditions rather than saturated soil