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Minnesota([email protected])

Here's a variation on the recent post about leaves before vs. leaves after the pumpkin.
How much of a role do you think the roots from the leaf nodes contribute to pumpkin growth vs. leaves from the crown(stump)?
Are those small, white, succulent roots that can be found several feet away from the plant, from the crown roots, or do some extend from the roots that form from the leaf nodes?

12/26/2006 6:03:21 PM

Montoursville, PA

Doug.........I believe the use of Mycorrhiza is pretty much common use today. Where Myhcorrhiza is used I believe all roots will host the fungi that reaches far and wide...even beyond the patch to bring the neccessary elements the plant needs to grow. Therefore any root that grows into the ground becomes an important part, of the total.

12/26/2006 9:57:55 PM

C N Y

personally i believe that the roots that come from SECONDARIES' rooting are GENERALLY the ones that you see
along the edge of the plant but a few feet away from it;
the ones that come from the main root at the stump
have their own radius that they collectively attain, just like the lengths of whiskers on a cat,
and then the secondaries'
roots do the same thing, just like the HAIRS of a cat.
each of these can and probably do attain the SAME
basic lengths, therefore, anywhere around an AG plant
the roots are present several feet out from the plant.
the only length-limiting factor could indeed be the length
of the season itself.
ever see on the weather reports, the Triple Doppler Radar? that is sort of what i mean;
the sweeping swaths of those radar beams----eric g

12/27/2006 7:21:36 PM

[email protected]

Doug,

Try doing a search for the word "sink" here at BP.

We had some stimulating conversations here about the plants sink/source relationship a few years back. The fruit is the sink where all energy goes. The foliage & roots are the source. The plant just always "knows" where the sink is. If some source is lost, a new source will kick into gear. Hence plants that lose their crown early have been known to "re-plumb" where the front half back-feeds the sink/fruit right on up to 1000 lbs anyway.

I & others suspect that the developing seeds in the fruit produce hormonal signals which influence photosynthate transport. The system has a genetic predisposition to use the crown source early but can shift into a different mode (back-feeding? sic) at a moments notice if the need arises & the alternate system is in place.

12/27/2006 8:00:00 PM

Montoursville, PA

We have heard here that some plants severed, from the first third, of the growth, regrouped the total system and still grew great fruit. I do believe the loss was from both mechanical damage or rot issues.

12/27/2006 9:41:58 PM

Williamsport, Pa.

lets face it, the more roots the better..we dont only bury vines to fool vine borers... the more intake the better. only commen sence.. period...

12/28/2006 6:15:26 AM

[email protected]

Yepper...more & healthier roots is the ticket. No honey holes. Make the entire patch a honey hole since patch elephants may strike at any time.

12/28/2006 10:26:41 AM

Danville, CA ([email protected])

Does it help to apply mycorrhizal powder at each node or is this over kill? I have heard that once a plant is innoculated, it is innoculated and needs no more. Anyone experiment with this?

12/29/2006 8:23:18 PM

[email protected]

Eric,

It is wise to inoculate each node. Mycorrhyzae does grow all season on the roots where they are inoculated. However the roots out at the nodes don't "bridge" with the basal crown ("stump" sic) roots until late in the season. Many folks use an inoculated granular organic (like PHC's Healthy Start or Flower Saver) all over the patch before planting out. Since we aren't sure how long the inoculant remains viable in the soil without roots to latch onto, most growers err on the side of safety & add more at the nodes while they're buring vines.

We can't harm the plants with too much inoculant so while this might be a little bit wasteful, there is no other concern.

12/29/2006 8:59:44 PM